Phrenology: The 19th Century’s ‘Brain’ Science
This was the promise of phrenology, the 19th century's wildly popular but utterly flawed 'brain science' that claimed your personality could be read from the bumps on your skull. Explore…
Tag: propaganda
The Phoenician ‘Tophet’ Sanctuaries
Among the most chilling accusations leveled against an ancient civilization is that the Carthaginians sacrificed their own children to the gods. Archaeological sites known as "Tophets", filled with thousands of…
The ‘Social War’ of the Roman Republic
One of the Roman Republic's most devastating conflicts was not against a foreign power, but against its own Italian allies in the Social War. This brutal clash over the rights…
The Tanchagem: Portugal’s Ritual Tax
Imagine a medieval world where a lord’s power was so absolute he could claim your firstborn child as a tax. This was the horrifying legend of Portugal's *tanchagem*, a feudal…
The Gelmer Fiasco of 1902
History is filled with bizarre footnotes, but few are as hilarious as the Gelmer Fiasco of 1902. When a German company launched a new meat bouillon cube with a marketing…
How Ancient Coins Were Minted
From the first lumps of Lydian electrum to the powerful portraits of Roman emperors, ancient coins are miniature marvels of art and metallurgy. This journey explores the lost world of…
The Great Achaemenid Canal of Xerxes
Long dismissed as a fantasy from the historian Herodotus, the story of a Persian king digging a canal through a Greek peninsula was a powerful myth. But modern archaeology, using…
The Sasanian Silver Plates
More than just treasure, the ornate silver plates of the Sasanian Empire were masterfully crafted tools of propaganda. These luxurious objects depict kings as divine heroes, using powerful symbolism to…
The Battle of Issus Mosaic
One of the most famous pieces of art to survive from antiquity, the Alexander Mosaic from Pompeii is a masterpiece of drama and detail. Preserved by the eruption of Vesuvius,…
The Nizari Assassins of Alamut
Dive into the history of the legendary Assassins of Alamut. We separate Marco Polo's myths of drug-fueled killers from the historical reality of a sophisticated Nizari Ismaili state that used…
The ‘King’s Touch’ for Scrofula
For centuries, European monarchs claimed a divine power to heal the sick with a simple touch. This ancient ritual, known as the 'King's Touch', was a powerful blend of faith,…
Ashoka’s Edicts: An Empire of Dharma
After a bloody conquest left him with profound regret, the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka converted to Buddhism and sought to rule by a revolutionary moral code. His famous edicts, carved on…
The Kingdom of Benin’s Artful Power
Discover the powerful West African Kingdom of Benin, where history wasn't written in books but cast in brilliant bronze. These intricate sculptures were more than just art; they were a…
The Bagaudae: Peasant Rebels of Rome
In the dying light of the Roman Empire, shadowy figures known as the Bagaudae rose from the fields of Gaul and Hispania. Were these desperate peasant rebels fighting crushing injustice,…
The Great Forgetting: The Spanish Flu of 1918
Between 1918 and 1920, the ‘Spanish Flu’ killed an estimated 50 to 100 million people, eclipsing the death toll of World War I. Yet for decades, the deadliest pandemic in…
The Defenestrations of Prague
Tossing people out of windows seems to be a uniquely Bohemian form of political protest. The infamous Defenestrations of Prague—in 1419, 1483, and 1618—were not just random acts of violence…
The Sassanian Empire: Rome’s Great Rival
For over 400 years, long after Carthage had fallen, Rome faced a true equal in the East: the mighty Sassanian Persian Empire. More than just a rival, this sophisticated civilization…
The Battle of Kadesh: A Propaganda War
Was the Battle of Kadesh a great victory for Ramesses II, or a deadly ambush he spun into a tale of personal glory? By analyzing the competing Egyptian and Hittite…
The Printing Press and the Reformation
On its own, Martin Luther's protest against the Catholic Church might have been a footnote in history. But when combined with the revolutionary power of the printing press, his 95…
The Investiture Controversy
Who held the ultimate power in medieval Europe: the Pope or the Holy Roman Emperor? This question ignited the Investiture Controversy, a titanic struggle that pitted Pope Gregory VII against…