Images

The peristyle of the Upper Terrace of the Promontory Palace of Herod the Great with the Hippodrome in the background, Caesarea, Israel.

The Scientific Revolution in Europe, roughly 1500 to 1700, was a profound intellectual and cultural transformation that forever altered humanity's understanding of the natural world. The period witnessed a seismic shift from medieval beliefs...

A c. 1665 coloured illustration showing the layout of the observatory of Uraniborg on Hven (Ven) island, Sweden, built by Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) in 1576. (National Library of Scotland)

An 1882 illustration by Heinrich Hansen of the observatory of Uraniborg on Hven (Ven) island, Sweden, built by Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) in 1576.

An image of the remnants of Tycho's Supernova, first observed by Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) in November 1572. Image taken by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.

A c. 1598 coloured lithographic print showing the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) and the mural quadrant he used to measure the elevation of heavenly bodies at his observatory, Uraniborg. (Roman Picture Library and Royal Astronomical...

Image of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) warehouse and the shipyard in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which would have inspired Peter on his Grand Embassy trip to Western Europe. Copper engraving coloured by hand by Joseph Mulder.

An 18th-century portrait by Maurice Quentin de La Tour of Gabrielle Émilie, Marquise du Châtelet (1706-1749), the French scientist and translator. (Château de Breteuil, France)

A 1665 oil-on-canvas portrait by Peter Lely of Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle (1623-1673). She was one of the very few women to make a mark in the field of natural philosophy during the Scientific Revolution. (Harley Gallery and...

A modern statue of Maria Cunitz (1610-1664), the German-Polish astronomer, in Swidnica in Poland. The figure is holding Cunitz's book Urania Propitia, published in 1650.