Sophia: Did you mean...?

Photograph taken by photographer, George Valentine (1852-1890), showing the destruction wrought by the eruption of the volcano, Mount Tarawera (New Zealand) in June 1886. The image shows what was left of the Rotomahana Hotel owned by Joseph...

The Byzantine Empire existed from 330 to 1453. It is often called the Eastern Roman Empire or simply Byzantium. The Byzantine capital was founded at Constantinople by Constantine I (r. 306-337). The Byzantine Empire varied in size over the...

King Arthur is among the most famous literary characters of all time. The Arthurian legend of the Knights of the Round Table, Camelot, the Quest for the Holy Grail, the love affair of Lancelot and Guinevere, and the wizard Merlin have informed...

More info about travel to Istanbul: http://www.ricksteves.com/europe/turkey/istanbul Hagia Sophia has served over the centuries as one of the greatest houses of worship in both the Christian and Muslim worlds. Hagia Sophia marks the high...

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was an American author of novels and short stories, who produced some of the most memorable works of American literature: the novels The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables as well as the short...

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, 532-37 (architects: Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles) A conversation with Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris

Ivan III of Russia (Ivan the Great) was the Grand Prince of Moscow and Russia from 1462 to 1505. Ivan III was born in 1440 to Grand Prince Vasily II of Moscow (r. 1425-1462) and his wife, Maria Borovsk (l. c. 1420-1485). He served as co-ruler...

Jan Žižka (l. c. 1360 – 1424) was a Czech general and one of the most brilliant tacticians in military history. In the Hussite Wars (1419 to c. 1434), he was undefeated as the leader of the Hussites against the Catholic loyalists. Even completely...

How has this unique structure, built on a seismic fault, survived centuries of quakes?

Built in the seventh century BCE, the ancient city of Byzantium proved to be a valuable city for both the Greeks and Romans. Because it lay on the European side of the Strait of Bosporus, the Emperor Constantine understood its strategic importance...