The arabian nights: Did you mean...?

This infographic illustrates the Five Pillars of Islam, which form the core practices of the religion, established during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (7th century CE) —Shahada (faith), Salah (prayer), Zakat (charity), Sawm (fasting...

Nomadic people left tens of thousands of inscribed rocks, like this one, across Jordan desserts, written in Safaitic, an Arabian dialect. This rock playfully shows a woman playing the flute. The inscription reads "By Aqraban, son of Kasit...

The Jabal al-Ahmar Necropolis in Hegra (Mada'in Salih) in modern-day Saudi Arabia is one of the four necropolis areas to have survived. It contains 18 tombs, some of which were recently uncovered. The remains of a 2,000-year-old Nabatean...

The Qasr al-Bint necropolis in Hegra (Mada'in Salih) in modern-day Saudi Arabia is one of the four necropolis areas to have survived. Qasr al-Bint consists of 31 Nabatean tombs dating from 1 to 58 CE. The tombs include fine inscriptions concerning...

The mythology of ancient Persia originally developed in the region known as Greater Iran (the Caucasus, Central Asia, South Asia, and West Asia). The Persians were initially part of a migratory people who referred to themselves as Aryan...

Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) was a Danish nobleman who made the most significant contribution to our knowledge of astronomy before the telescope arrived. He discovered a supernova, observed the elliptical interplanetary orbit of a comet, updated...

The life of wealthy Romans was filled with exotic luxuries such as cinnamon, myrrh, pepper, or silk acquired through long-distance international trade. Goods from the Far East arrived in Rome through two corridors – the Red Sea and the Persian...

Caesarea Maritima, the city Herod the Great (r. 37-4 BCE) built for Rome on the southeastern coast of the Mediterranean served as the Roman Empire's powerbase of operations both commercially and militarily. With Rome's ultimate goal of adding...

Catherine de' Medici (l. 1519-1589) was the queen of France, mother of three kings and two queens and, between 1559 and c. 1576, the most powerful woman in France and, possibly, all of Europe. She was the strength behind the French throne...

Ivar the Boneless (Old Norse Ívarr hinn Beinlausi) is known from Old Norse and medieval Latin sources as the son of the legendary Viking king Ragnar Lothbrok, in these stories raiding alongside his father and brothers and becoming the ruler...