Central Asia: Did you mean...?

Nagasaki, on the northwest coast of Japan’s Kyushu Island, was an important Portuguese trading base from c. 1571 to 1639, and the most eastern outpost of the Portuguese empire. The Portuguese presence transformed Nagasaki from a small fishing...

Melito of Sardis (d. c. 180 CE) was a bishop in the city of Sardis (near modern-day Sart, Turkey) who was regarded as one of the greatest Christian thinkers, writers, and apologists of his time. In the modern age, he is best known for his...

The Battle of the Eurymedon (c. 466 BCE, also given as the Battle of the Eurymedon River) was a military engagement between the Greeks of the Delian League and the forces of the Achaemenid Empire toward the end of the reign of Xerxes I (r...

The Upanishads are the philosophical-religious texts of Hinduism (also known as Sanatan Dharma meaning “Eternal Order” or “Eternal Path”) which develop and explain the fundamental tenets of the religion. The name is translated as to “sit...

In the 13th century, astonishing quantities of spices and silk passed from the Far East to Europe. Exact amounts are not known, but spice popularity in both cuisine and medicine reached its historical peak during the Middle Ages in Europe...

John Cabot (aka Giovanni Caboto, c. 1450 - c. 1498 CE) was an Italian explorer who famously visited the eastern coast of Canada in 1497 CE and 1498 CE in his ship the Mathew (also spelt Matthew). Sponsored by Henry VII of England (r. 1485-1509...

Marco Polo (1254-1324 CE) was a Venetian merchant and explorer who travelled to China and served the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan (l. 1214-1294 CE) between c. 1275 and 1292 CE. Polo's adventures are recounted in his own writings, The Travels...

The Yuan Dynasty was established by the Mongols and ruled China from 1271 to 1368 CE. Their first emperor was Kublai Khan (r. 1260-1279 CE) who finally defeated the Song Dynasty which had reigned in China since 960 CE. Stability and peace...

Lysimachus (c. 361-281 BCE) was one of Alexander the Great's trusted bodyguards and a member of his Companion Cavalry. Although he obtained Macedonian citizenship, his father was a Thessalian named Agathocles. After the death of Alexander...

Scythian art is best known for its 'animal art.' Flourishing between the 7th and 3rd centuries BCE on the steppe of Central Asia, with echoes of Celtic influence, the Scythians were known for their works in gold. Moreover, with the recent...