Genius: Did you mean...?

The Battle of Castiglione (5 August 1796) was one of the most important battles of Napoleon's Italian Campaign of 1796-97. After laying siege to the vital fortress of Mantua, General Napoleon Bonaparte and his Army of Italy defeated an Austrian...

In the aftermath of the failure of the Second Crusade (1147-1149 CE), which only managed to bring Damascus under Nur ad-Din's (sometimes also given as Nur al-Din, l. 1118-1174 CE) dominion, Egypt acquired top priority – both from a strategic...

Zeno of Citium (c. 336 – 265 BCE) was the founder of the Stoic School of philosophy in Athens, which taught that the Logos (Universal Reason) was the greatest good in life and living in accordance with reason was the meaning of life. He was...

Chaeronea is the site of the famous Battle of Chaeronea (338 BCE) Phillip II of Macedon's decisive defeat of the Greek city-states. At Chaeronea in Boeotia (north of Corinth) Phillip and his allies from Thessaly, Epirus, Aetolia, Northern...

The Renaissance of 15th- and 16th-century CE Europe witnessed an extraordinary blossoming of artistic talent. In this collection of resources, we look at ten of the greatest artists from the period who offered a whole new approach to painting...

Medieval literature developed in Europe from medieval folklore between c. 476 and c. 1500. The works ranged from poetry to drama, romance, prose, philosophical dialogues, and histories. Literary works were at first composed in Latin but...

The thermopolium (cook-shop) of Vetutius Placidus in Pompeii. Thermapolia were bars which served hot food and drinks. The 'L' shaped masonry counter has large storage jars which were used to hold food. On the rear wall of the bar is a painted...

The Shushtar Hydraulic System is a Sasanian era (3rd century CE) water irrigation system in Shushtar in Iran that included watermills, dams, tunnels and canals. The mills, one of which is still functioning, were used to grind wheat and barley...

Dr Thomas Asbridge offers a piercing examination of the Third Crusade and the two renowned figures who have come to embody Crusader war: Richard the Lionheart, king of England, and the mighty Muslim sultan Saladin, unifier of Islam. Drawing...

From the artwork to its theft and role in popular culture, the critically-acclaimed book The Thefts of the Mona Lisa provides the complete story of this work of art, as written by a bestselling, Pulitzer finalist author Noah Charney. Leonardo...