Articles

Salt from the Sahara desert was one of the major trade goods of ancient West Africa where very little naturally occurring deposits of the mineral could be found. Transported via camel caravans and by boat along...

Unlike the practice of professional numismatists, I prefer to see the “big picture”. So, my entire Roman coin collection, all 250 pieces, from Julius Caesar to...

The civil service examinations of Imperial China allowed the state to find the best candidates to staff the vast bureaucracy that governed China from the Han Dynasty onwards (206 BCE - 220 CE). The exams...

Admiral Zheng He (aka Cheng Ho, c. 1371-1433 CE) was a Chinese Muslim eunuch explorer who was sent by the Ming dynasty emperor Yongle (r. 1403-1424 CE) on seven diplomatic missions to increase trade and secure tribute...

The Mediterranean Sea was the economic focal point of the Roman Empire. Rome's armies first established an empire across these waters beginning back in the times of the Roman Republic...

Between the 9th and the 10th century CE, in an unknown European abbey, an anonymous author told the story of an Irish monk and his 14 companions who embarked on a dangerous journey in the 5th century...

In 378 CE the Tanukhid queen Mavia (r. c. 375 - c. 425 CE) of the Saracens led a successful revolt against the Roman Empire, pitting her forces against the armies under the emperor Valens (364-378 CE). Launching...

Dogs are the oldest domesticated animal in China and were bred as guardians, for transporting goods, for herding, hunting, and as a food source. Archaeological evidence dates the domestication of the dog in China at approximately...

While Oman is perhaps the most mysterious corner of the Arabian peninsula to Westerners, the country retains a strong sense of identity, a pride in its ancient past, and unique surprises in the domain of...

Jade artifacts and icons are almost synonymous with the Chinese culture going back thousands of years. Jade (nephrite) was first worked into recognizable objects c. 6000 BCE during the period of the Houli Culture (c. 6500...