Year: 2013
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The Merovingians: The Kings and Queens of the Franks
Mythologized and circumscribed for over 1500 years, the Merovingians were a powerful Frankish dynasty, which exercised control much of modern-day France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and the Low Countries. During the Early Middle Ages, the Merovingian kingdoms were arguably the most powerful and most important polities to emerge after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire,…
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The Enigmatic Poison King: Mithradates VI of Pontus (120-63 BCE)
While relatively unknown today, Mithradates VI of Pontus inspired fear, romance, courage, and intrigue across the Near East during the first century BCE. Claiming descent from Alexander the Great and Darius of Persia, Mithradates challenged the might of late Republican Rome, creating an empire that stretched from the northern reaches of the Black Sea to…
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AHE is listed on Open Education Resources
The Ancient History Encyclopedia is pleased to announce that we are officially listed and registered on Open Education Resources (OER). The creation and use of OER represents a shift in education that facilitates shared teacher expertise and peer-based learning. Free and open content is not only a new economic model for schools and students, but…
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UserVoice is sponsoring us!
We’re happy to announce that the kind people at UserVoice are sponsoring us. We’ve been using their services for quite some time now; it’s the little red feedback tab on the bottom right. They describe themselves in these terms: “UserVoice is the San Francisco-based startup that empowers you to help and understand your users so…
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Petra: Wonder in the Desert
Few places on earth have captivated humanity as much as the ethereal city of Petra, which is located in present-day Jordan. Constructed by the Nabataeans–ancient traders who dominated the export of frankincense, myrrh, balsam, and spices from Arabia to the Greco-Roman world–Petra was a beautiful desert metropolis of theaters, temples, palaces, and immense markets. ‘Rediscovered’…
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The Legacy of Antiquity at the Dawn of the Renaissance
“Of all the art forms, sculpture was the first to give a comprehensive and coherent voice to the new formal Renaissance idiom, the roots of which went back to the classical world. But it was the coherence of the Renaissance visual language that made the difference… These were major works of art, yet when they…
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Roman Riches in Iron Age Denmark
Danish archaeologists made an unprecedented discovery in the municipality of Ishøj, located just 18 km (11 mi) outside of Copenhagen, in October 2007: an intact grave of a high-ranking man or “prince” from the Roman Iron Age (c. 1-400 CE). Hailed as one of the most important discoveries in recent memory, the grave provided a…
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AHE Collaborates with Kunstpedia
The Ancient History Encyclopedia is pleased to announce that it has joined forces with the Kunstpedia Foundation to bring increased public attention to the fine and applied arts. Kunstpedia is a Dutch non-profit organization established by enthusiasts of art history and the visual arts in 2008. Today, it is recognized by the Dutch Tax Office…
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AHE Joins PELAGIOS Project
It gives us great pleasure to announce that the Ancient History Encyclopedia is joining the PELAGIOS Project. PELAGIOS stands for “Pelagios: Enable Linked Ancient Geodata In Open Systems,” and its aim is to help introduce Linked Open Data into online resources that refer to places in the ancient world. This approach permits new modes of discovery and…
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Deciphering Ancient Cham Art
The Cham people of central and south Vietnam have impressive artistic and architectural traditions, dating back more than 1700 years. Migrating from the island of Borneo to present-day Vietnam in second century CE, the Cham maintained a series of coastal kingdoms from c. 192-1832 CE. Champa–located at the crossroads of India, Java, and China–was the…
