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TheCollector
What Did an Ottoman Sultan Eat In a Day? In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Ottoman palace kitchens were places where delicious and...
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In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Ottoman palace kitchens were places where delicious and innovative foods emerged. A sultan’s personal tastes, whether leaning towards savory or sweet, influenced the culinary culture of the court. Some of the sultan’s favorite foods, like...
TheCollector
7 Real Characters from Arthurian Legends The Arthurian legends introduce many fascinating characters, including the selfless King Arthur with...
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The Arthurian legends introduce many fascinating characters, including the selfless King Arthur with his magical sword, the chivalrous Sir Lancelot with his scandalous love affair with Guinevere, and the magician Merlin, possibly a son of demons. As we focus on these lead...
TheCollector
How Gutenberg’s Press Sparked a World-Changing Revolution The Gutenberg Press revolutionized how information was produced and disseminated, marking a...
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The Gutenberg Press revolutionized how information was produced and disseminated, marking a milestone in the history of book production in Europe. Produced in the mid-15th century by Johannes Gutenberg in Germany, this innovative press combined the movable metal type with a screw...
TheCollector
How Pegasus Sprang from Medusa and Soared to Olympus The immortal, white-winged stallion Pegasus is one of the most iconic creatures in Greek mythology....
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The immortal, white-winged stallion Pegasus is one of the most iconic creatures in Greek mythology. He was born from the tragic and brutal union of a god, a gorgon, and a hero’s sword. While Pegasus is primarily remembered as the devoted companion of the hero Bellerophon, his...
TheCollector
9 Facts About Johnny Appleseed Few American legends are as widely known as the story of Johnny Appleseed. But as with many tales of...
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Few American legends are as widely known as the story of Johnny Appleseed. But as with many tales of Americana, it can be hard to separate fact from fiction. While Johnny was a real person, his moniker of “Appleseed” was not his actual last name but a nickname given to him for...
TheCollector
The Gluttonous Roman Emperor Vitellius of 69 CE Vitellius was one of the four emperors who claimed power in the turbulent year that followed the...
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Vitellius was one of the four emperors who claimed power in the turbulent year that followed the death of the last Julio-Claudian, Nero. History is written by the victor, and after just eight months Vespasian ousted Vitellius and established the Flavian Dynasty. Consequently,...
TheCollector
The Top 8 Archaeological Discoveries of 2025 (So Far) From lost royal tombs and underwater time capsules to mythic Greek sanctuaries and vibrant Roman...
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From lost royal tombs and underwater time capsules to mythic Greek sanctuaries and vibrant Roman frescoes, 2025 is already shaping up to be a landmark year for archaeology. These top archaeological discoveries span thousands of years and multiple continents.   1. Valley of the...
Trying to Understand...
A Little Intelligence ... ... about Intelligence.
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TheCollector
The Unique History of Wales (From the Stone Age) Many people are confused and think that Wales, in the United Kingdom, is a part of England,...
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Many people are confused and think that Wales, in the United Kingdom, is a part of England, something that angers most Welsh people due to the turbulent history between the two countries. Wales has a long and fascinating history, all of its own, characterized by consistent...
Classical Wisdom
How to Have Willpower Ancient Meditations and Modern Psychology on Self-Control
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TheCollector
What Were the Founding Principles of Monophysitism? Monophysitism is a belief that Jesus Christ had only one divine nature, rather than a nature that...
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Monophysitism is a belief that Jesus Christ had only one divine nature, rather than a nature that was both fully divine and fully human within one person. The Monophysite theology took various forms with various people over the early centuries of Christianity.   The Emergence of...
History Today Feed
How Hertha Ayrton Made Waves How Hertha Ayrton Made Waves JamesHoare Wed, 07/16/2025 - 09:05
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TheCollector
Hygiene and Bathing in the Middle Ages The Middle Ages has a reputation for being a time when the average person lived in filth and...
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The Middle Ages has a reputation for being a time when the average person lived in filth and squalor, bathing was unheard of, and personal hygiene was a foreign concept. But is this true? There is no simple answer to this question since the Middle Ages lasted almost a thousand...
TheCollector
What the Bubonic Plague Can Still Teach Us About Civilization Collapse From 1347 to 1353, the Bubonic Plague, more commonly referred to as the Black Death, wracked the...
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From 1347 to 1353, the Bubonic Plague, more commonly referred to as the Black Death, wracked the continent of Europe. It was a time of misery and suffering as almost half of Europe’s population succumbed to the disease, sending shockwaves throughout the continent and forcing...
TheCollector
How Hagia Sophia Survived Centuries of Religious and Political Change Rising at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Hagia Sophia is more than a marvel of architecture. For...
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Rising at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Hagia Sophia is more than a marvel of architecture. For over 1,500 years, Istanbul’s international treasure has witnessed the rise and fall of empires and the shifting tides of faith. How did a singular structure survive centuries of...
TheCollector
The Upstart Roman Emperor Otho Who Claimed Nero’s Legacy Marcus Silvius Otho has gone down in history for claiming the position of emperor of Rome for a...
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Marcus Silvius Otho has gone down in history for claiming the position of emperor of Rome for a short three-month period in 69 CE. This was during the year of volatility that followed the death of the last Julio-Claudian emperor, Nero, known as the Year of the Four Emperors. A...
Flashbak
Ulissi Aldrovandi’s Monstrorum Historia: Dragons And Other Real Monsters “I have never described any thing without first having seen it with my eyes” – Ulissi Aldrovandi,...
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“I have never described any thing without first having seen it with my eyes” – Ulissi Aldrovandi, who shows us dragons and other monsters in his Monstrorum Historia     Ulissi Aldrovandi’s Monstrorum Historia is a huge 13-volume encyclopaedia of life on Earth. The books cover...
TheCollector
Get to Know Venerable Bede, the Father of English History Bede is remembered today chiefly as a historian. Yet he was a dynamic intellectual giant in the...
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Bede is remembered today chiefly as a historian. Yet he was a dynamic intellectual giant in the Early Middle Ages and his most famous historical work is far more than a dry recounting of events. Let us explore Bede, his History, and the influence that it has had.   Northumbria in...
TheCollector
9 Things to Know About Giorgio Morandi, the Master of Still Life Giorgio Morandi was an Italian artist best known for his still life paintings of bottles and vases....
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Giorgio Morandi was an Italian artist best known for his still life paintings of bottles and vases. Morandi focused not on bold concepts or bright imagery but on composition and color. He deliberately stripped his objects of their practical functions to focus on pure form. Read...
TheCollector
King Tut: The Life & Afterlife of the Boy Pharaoh When Howard Carter cracked open a forgotten tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings in 1922, the world...
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When Howard Carter cracked open a forgotten tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings in 1922, the world met a golden face that would become immortal. But behind the glittering mask of Tutankhamun was a sickly teenage boy, born into chaos and nearly forgotten forever. The life of King...
TheCollector
Who Were the Famous Pompeii Victims? In 79 CE, the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed by the powerful eruption of...
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In 79 CE, the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed by the powerful eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Up to 16,000 victims were buried under ash and rubble or suffocated from poisonous gases. Many of such bodies left silhouette-shaped cavities in compressed ash....
TheCollector
Real Person or Myth? The Truth About King Arthur Did King Arthur really exist? That question has occupied the minds of historians for centuries. Even...
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Did King Arthur really exist? That question has occupied the minds of historians for centuries. Even in the medieval era, as early as the century in which Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote his Arthurian account, scholars doubted the truth behind much of the Arthurian legends. In more...
TheCollector
How the Mycenaeans Conquered the Minoans & Took Crete The Bronze Age Aegean in the eastern Mediterranean region had several distinct groups and they...
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The Bronze Age Aegean in the eastern Mediterranean region had several distinct groups and they included the Mycenaeans, who lived in mainland Greece, and the Minoans on the island of Crete. Although the cultures are often studied separately, they were somewhat linked. This is...
History Today Feed
On the Spot: Kathleen DuVal On the Spot: Kathleen DuVal JamesHoare Tue, 07/15/2025 - 08:09
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TheCollector
What Did the Emancipation Proclamation Do? Issued by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, this executive order declared freedom for...
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Issued by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, this executive order declared freedom for enslaved people in Confederate territories. Although its immediate impact was limited by enforcement challenges, its symbolic power redefined the nation’s purpose and the very...
TheCollector
How Odysseus Survived the Terrifying Sea Monsters Scylla and Charybdis Scylla and Charybdis appear mainly in book twelve of Homer’s Odyssey, in which Odysseus and his crew...
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Scylla and Charybdis appear mainly in book twelve of Homer’s Odyssey, in which Odysseus and his crew must sail through the rocks near where the monsters live. Little information is known about their origins, though some stories are provided in myth. Scylla and Charybdis were...
TheCollector
What Are the Literary Sources for the Trojan War? When considering the Trojan War, most people think of Homer’s epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey....
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When considering the Trojan War, most people think of Homer’s epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. But these two defining works only tell part of the story. The Iliad is set in the ninth year of a ten-year war, and the Odyssey is the tale of a hero returning after the conflict....
TheCollector
How Tiberius & Gaius Gracchus Almost Revolutionized the Roman Republic Rivalries between brothers are a recurring motif throughout Roman history. From the bloody struggle...
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Rivalries between brothers are a recurring motif throughout Roman history. From the bloody struggle between Romulus and Remus during the city’s mythological origins, through to Caracalla’s brutal murder of his brother Geta in the early 3rd century CE, happy families could be rare...
TheCollector
How John Everett Millais’ Life & Work Shaped the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood Along with William Holman Hunt and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais was one of the...
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Along with William Holman Hunt and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais was one of the founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in September 1848. Throughout the early 1850s, John Everett Millais created many works of art that would define the Pre-Raphaelite art...
TheCollector
What Was the Significance of Philippi and Colossae in Biblical History? The Apostle Paul traveled throughout much of the Roman Empire in the first century spreading...
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The Apostle Paul traveled throughout much of the Roman Empire in the first century spreading Christianity and preaching to people and churches. Two of the cities he visited were Philippi in Greece and Colossae in Asia Minor (now Turkey).   Philippi Before Paul Arrived   Philippi...
History Today Feed
‘I Humbly Beg Your Speedy Answer’ by Mary Beth North review ‘I Humbly Beg Your Speedy Answer’ by Mary Beth North review JamesHoare Mon, 07/14/2025 - 08:42
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History Today Feed
‘I Humbly Beg Your Speedy Answer’ by Mary Beth Norton review ‘I Humbly Beg Your Speedy Answer’ by Mary Beth Norton review JamesHoare Mon, 07/14/2025 - 08:42
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Flashbak
An Anciente Mappe of Fairyland by Bernard Sleigh, 1920 “I believe in Faeries. It is very natural and not a bit foolish; for in these days we are quickly...
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“I believe in Faeries. It is very natural and not a bit foolish; for in these days we are quickly learning how little we know of any other world than our own.” – Bernard Sleigh, An Anciente Mappe of Fairyland Bernard Sleigh   After doctors drilled a hole in his skull to alleviate...
TheCollector
How Solomon’s Wisdom Shaped a Kingdom Solomon is synonymous with the honor, prosperity, and riches of Israel. These material things were...
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Solomon is synonymous with the honor, prosperity, and riches of Israel. These material things were never his goal but were the result of his desire to serve God as a trustworthy steward of his people. Solomon’s wish was to have the insight to distinguish between good and evil and...
TheCollector
Cimbrian War: Rome’s Greatest Threat Since Hannibal In the middle of the 2nd century BCE, the Roman Republic had fought and won several overseas wars....
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In the middle of the 2nd century BCE, the Roman Republic had fought and won several overseas wars. Carthage had been decisively defeated in the Third Punic War, while the Greeks and Macedonians in the east had also been brought to heel. However, by the end of the century, war...
TheCollector
Where Was the Biblical Saba (Land of the Queen of Sheba)? Strap on your metaphorical scuba gear because we’re about to dive into the murky depths of history,...
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Strap on your metaphorical scuba gear because we’re about to dive into the murky depths of history, myth, and archaeological intrigue surrounding Saba—the golden land of the fabled Queen Makeda. What was Saba really like? How did its people live, and what did its cities look...
TheCollector
Everything You Should Know About the Book of Isaiah The Book of Isaiah speaks to some of the darkest days of Israel and Judah yet contains some of the...
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The Book of Isaiah speaks to some of the darkest days of Israel and Judah yet contains some of the most beautiful passages in the Bible, bringing hope and presenting the Messianic promise of salvation and restoration. The book spans several centuries beginning with the time of...
TheCollector
Who Were King Solomon’s Many Wives and Concubines? King Solomon pulled the ultimate biblical no-no: he married foreign women and allowed them to keep...
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King Solomon pulled the ultimate biblical no-no: he married foreign women and allowed them to keep practicing their own religions. In his zeal to cement political alliances through marriage, he gained a reputation for faithlessness—and divine punishment soon followed. But who...
TheCollector
How Did Geographical Discoveries Shape Johannes Vermeer’s Artworks? Only around 35 paintings by Johannes Vermeer survive today, but they still captivate viewers of all...
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Only around 35 paintings by Johannes Vermeer survive today, but they still captivate viewers of all ages and backgrounds. This is evident from the ocean of merchandise featuring his masterpieces and the fame of the Girl with a Pearl Earring, which appears in pop culture almost as...
TheCollector
The Passionate (& Controversial) Relationship of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera In 1929, 22-year-old Mexican painter Frida Kahlo married muralist Diego Rivera, who was two decades...
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In 1929, 22-year-old Mexican painter Frida Kahlo married muralist Diego Rivera, who was two decades her senior. More than lovers, their mutual influence was most prominent in their respective artistic creations. Their admiration for each other’s talent, as well as a shared belief...
TheCollector
How Did Venice and Byzantium Become Bitter Rivals? The Byzantine Empire emerged as the surviving half of the Roman Empire, while the western half...
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The Byzantine Empire emerged as the surviving half of the Roman Empire, while the western half crumbled. Unlike the West, the Eastern Empire, after 476 CE, remained stable, with a strong military and capable administrators. Marked changes did occur as Greek culture, language, and...
Flashbak
Stephen Salmieri: First Photos of Coney Island, 1967 – 1972 “I used to be a fireball of energy – if I had two or three days a week to spare where I wasn’t on an...
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“I used to be a fireball of energy – if I had two or three days a week to spare where I wasn’t on an assignment I was out with my camera in the city. I covered this city like an archeologist.” – Stephen Salmieri, Coney Island Trips, 1967 – 1972     Between 1967 … Continue reading...
Flashbak
Metoposcopia: How To Spot Character From Forehead Wrinkles, 1661 These images from Centifrons Idolum Iani Hoc est: Metoposcopia Seu Prosopomantia by Johannes...
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These images from Centifrons Idolum Iani Hoc est: Metoposcopia Seu Prosopomantia by Johannes Praetorius (1661) attempt to convey the importance forehead topography plays in knowing another’s character. The study of foreheads is known as Metoposcopy, a pseudo-science developed in...
TheCollector
What Is Structuralism? (Definition & Facts) Structuralists say structures can be uncovered anywhere—from human behavior to star clusters and...
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Structuralists say structures can be uncovered anywhere—from human behavior to star clusters and snowflakes to mathematics. In fact, structuralism offers a kind of mathematization of the entirety of nature, even systems that were once considered too complicated to model, such as...
TheCollector
Porto for Art Lovers: Galleries, Architecture, and Street Art Porto is famous for its incredible past and its monuments. This mesmerizing city holds some of the...
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Porto is famous for its incredible past and its monuments. This mesmerizing city holds some of the most iconic historical buildings in the country besides renowned contemporary art galleries.   Baroque, Neo-Classical, and Art Nouveau Landmarks   Igreja and Torre dos Clérigos  ...
TheCollector
The Tumultuous Life of Gaius Marius, the Roman General Who Broke All the Rules Gaius Marius is one of the most compelling personalities of the Roman Republic. Entering politics as...
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Gaius Marius is one of the most compelling personalities of the Roman Republic. Entering politics as a “novus homo” from Italy with few political connections, he proved both his military skill and unbridled ambition during the Jugurthine War. He was subsequently elected consul an...
TheCollector
What Happened to the Neanderthals? Contrary to popular belief, the Neanderthals had language, hunting strategies, sophisticated tools,...
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Contrary to popular belief, the Neanderthals had language, hunting strategies, sophisticated tools, art, and jewelry. In many ways, they were not dissimilar from us. Having co-existed for thousands of years, there must be more to the story than humans simply wiping them out. For...
Flashbak
The Fireworks King: Brock’s Pyrotechnics: The History and Art of Firework Making, 1922 “My object has not been to write a text-book on firework-making, but rather to trace the art from...
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“My object has not been to write a text-book on firework-making, but rather to trace the art from earliest times, and to give a description of the development and process of manufacture… My excuse for adding another volume to the literature of the art is that I am of the eighth...
TheCollector
How the Roman Aeminium Became Coimbra, One of Portugal’s Oldest Cities Present-day Coimbra hides an extraordinary past. Here, you can find the most well-preserved...
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Present-day Coimbra hides an extraordinary past. Here, you can find the most well-preserved cryptoporticus from the Roman Empire and the richest Baroque library in Europe. At Coimbra, you will also discover remnants of the Moorish occupation.   Coimbra also played a vital role in...
TheCollector
How Was Food Preserved Before Fridges? Fridges have become an almost indispensable necessity in many households in the modern world. This...
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Fridges have become an almost indispensable necessity in many households in the modern world. This is because they keep food fresh by maintaining a cool environment. The cool temperatures in fridges help to prevent the growth of microorganisms that cause food decay. That said,...