Images

This map illustrates the four major khanates that emerged from the Mongol Empire in the early 14th century, following the fragmentation of the vast domain once ruled by Genghis Khan (circa 1162 to...

The gondola of the German airship Graf Zeppelin, 1930. LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin first crossed the Atlantic Ocean in October 1928.

As part of Herod the Great's building program, as they stood atop the free-standing edifices at the entrance to Herod's Harbor, Josephus mentions three colossi on the left and three on the right. (Wars, 1.21.6...

Inscribed stone boundary marker from Chalkidiki, c.350 to 300 BCE. Archaeological Museum of Thessalonika. It is an example of ancient Greek boundary markers, known as horoi, and it contains...

A contemporary illustration of Cnut the Great and Emma of Normandy donating a cross to the New Minster in Winchester, England. Queen Emma is listed by her English name, Aelfgifu (not to be confused...

Title page of the first folio of William Shakespeare's plays (Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, histories, & tragedies. Published according to the true originall copies), published in 1623. Beinecke...

Purported portrait of Anne Hathaway, the wife of William Shakespeare (1564-1616); drawing on the verso of the original title page in the Third Folio (1663) of Shakespeare's works by Sir Nathaniel Curzon, who claimed...

The Plays of William Shakespeare, oil on canvas painting by Sir John Gilbert, 1849. Dahesh Museum of Art, New York.

A house belonging to John Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon, and the likely birthplace of William Shakespeare. Photo by Flickr user John in July 2007.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest surviving work of epic literature, originating in Mesopotamia with its earliest Sumerian poems composed around c. 2100 BCE, during the period of early city-states in southern...