Flavius Belisarius (l. 505-565 CE) was born in Illyria (the western part of the Balkan Peninsula) to poor parents and rose to become one of the greatest generals, if not the greatest, of the Byzantine Empire. Belisarius is listed among the notable candidates for the title of 'Last of the Romans' by which is meant the last individual who most perfectly embodies the values of... [...]

The Bronze Age Collapse (also known as Late Bronze Age Collapse) is a modern-day term referring to the decline and fall of major Mediterranean civilizations during the 13th-12th centuries BCE. The precise cause of the Bronze Age Collapse has been debated by scholars for over a century as well as the date it probably began and when it ended but no consensus has been reached. What is clearly known... [...]

The decline of the Late Bronze Age civilizations of the Mediterranean and Near East has puzzled historians and archaeologists for centuries. While many have ascribed the collapse of several civilizations to the enigmatic Sea Peoples, Professor Eric H. Cline, former Chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at George Washington University, presents a more... [...]

Xanadu (aka Shangdu, Shang-tu, and Kaiping), located in Inner Mongolia, northern China, was made first the capital (1263-73 CE) and then the summer capital (1274-1364) of the Mongol Empire by Kublai Khan (r. 1260-1294 CE). Xanadu received lasting fame in the western world thanks to the Venetian explorer Marco Polo's description of it in his celebrated book Travels (c. 1298 CE). The city... [...]

A volunteer looking through dirt that had been excavated from Robinson's Arch in 2013 found a 1-cm impression of a seal. The impression, or bulla, would have sealed a paper or container and marked the identity of the author or owner. This clay seal impression references the name Adoniyahu, the royal steward. Adoniyahu appears three times in the Hebrew Bible and most notably as the name of King David's son.

The Royal Steward was the [...]