The Rise and Fall of the Knights Templar
The Knights Templar rose from a small band of pious bodyguards to the most powerful military and financial institution in the medieval world. As elite warriors of the Crusades and…
Tag: religion & belief
The Forgotten Moche Civilization of Peru
Long before the Inca, the Moche civilization thrived on Peru's desert coast, leaving behind incredible pottery and treasures of gold. Yet these master craftsmen and fierce warriors, who built massive…
Mansa Musa’s Golden Pilgrimage
In 1324, West African emperor Mansa Musa embarked on a pilgrimage to Mecca so lavish it redefined the meaning of wealth for the medieval world. His golden caravan, tens of…
The Dancing Plague of 1518
In the summer of 1518, a woman in Strasbourg stepped into the street and began to dance, sparking a terrifying phenomenon where hundreds joined her. They danced uncontrollably for weeks,…
Mapping the World Before Mercator
Before the familiar Mercator projection became the global standard, mapmakers envisioned the world in radically different ways. These fascinating pre-modern maps were not just navigational tools but windows into the…
The Nazca Lines: An Ancient Enigma
Etched into the arid plains of southern Peru, the Nazca Lines are a series of colossal geoglyphs that have baffled historians for decades. We explore the ancient culture that created…
Cahokia: America’s Forgotten Metropolis
Long before Columbus, a sprawling metropolis larger than contemporary London thrived near modern-day St. Louis. Home to the sophisticated Mississippian culture, the city of Cahokia boasted massive earthen pyramids and…
History of the World’s First University
Journey to the heart of Fez, Morocco, where the story of higher education begins not in Oxford or Bologna, but in a mosque founded in 859 AD. Discover the University…