Hannibal Barca (l. 247-183 BCE), the brilliant Carthaginian general of the Second Punic War (218-202 BCE), had the military talent, expertise, and skill to have won the conflict but was denied the resources by his government. The Carthaginian senate repeatedly refused Hannibal's requests for aid and supplies even as they were relying on him to win the war for them.[image:4387]This kind of... [...]

The Battle of Zama (202 BCE) was the final engagement of the Second Punic War (218-202 BCE) at which Hannibal Barca of Carthage (l. 247-183 BCE) was defeated by Scipio Africanus of Rome (l. 236-183 BCE) ending the conflict in Rome's favor. The Second Punic War had begun when Hannibal attacked the city of Saguntum, a Roman ally, in Spain and continued with a number of stunning victories by... [...]

The Abbasids were an Arabic dynasty who ruled over most of the Islamic empire (save some western parts) from 750 to 1258 CE. They assumed the caliphal title after ousting the ruling Umayyad Dynasty, hence serving as the second of the Islamic Caliphates (632-1924 CE, intermittently). Initially spanning over a vast stretch of territory, the Abbasids started losing their prestige and lands by... [...]

The Old City of Akko was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001, and rightly so: With layers of Ottoman and Crusader ruins above and below ground, there is much to explore.

Not far from the main tourist parking lot and the entrance to the Crusader Citadel is the green-domed El-Jazzar Pasha Mosque. Completed in 1781, the mosque is named for its founder, Ahmad Pasha El-Jazzar (1730–1804), the regional Ottoman governor who was also buried [...]

Museums have been around much longer than one might think, but in the ancient world, they were principally institutions of research and learning rather than places to display artworks and artefacts, even if they were often located in grand buildings and decorated with examples of fine sculpture and painting. The name ‘museum' derives from the Muses, those nine Greek goddesses associated... [...]