During the 10th century CE Sayf al-Dawla, Sword of the Dynasty, ruler of the Emirate of Aleppo became the most prominent antagonist of the Byzantine Empire. Taking up the call of jihad, he launched devastating raids year after year across the Taurus mountains into the lands of the Byzantine Empire and won many pitched […]

The Desert Fathers appeared on the Christian historical scene in the third century CE. Saint Anthony is often considered the most notable among them, though he was not the first. The Desert Fathers were committed and dedicated believers who chose an ascetic lifestyle that would express their earnest beliefs. They decided not to associate […]

One of the most fundamental questions examined by most philosophical schools of thought is the nature of existence. According to Stoicism, everything in the universe is matter, created, animated, destroyed, and recreated by divine fire, logos. Consequently, everything is connected as a single living entity, and all things are predetermined within a providential cosmic […]

While many stories survive about Norse mythology and legendary Viking warriors, these mostly come from later Christian accounts, as the pagan Vikings wrote very little about themselves. But symbols were powerful in the Viking world. They could be used as shorthand for important concepts and were often believed to have magical or divine properties. […]