Images

Mausoleum of Shajara al-Durr, sultana of Egypt (r. 1250) in the al-Khalifa neighbourhood, Cairo.

A map illustrating the changing patterns of Christian pilgrimage during the Middle Ages - for the average European, a pilgrimage to Jerusalem was out of the question - a journey to the Holy Land was too far, dangerous, and forbiddingly expensive...

A map depicting the Viceroyalty of New Spain (the first of four viceroyalties that the Spanish Crown established to govern its conquests) which, at its height, comprised five royal audiencias and over twelve Catholic dioceses covering vast...

A modern statue in Panama City of Vasco Núñez de Balboa (1475-1519), the Spanish conquistador who famously discovered the Pacific Ocean after crossing the isthmus of Panama in 1513.

A 19th-century portrait of Vasco Núñez de Balboa (1475-1519), the Spanish conquistador who famously discovered the Pacific Ocean after crossing the isthmus of Panama in 1513. (Naval Museum of Madrid)

Statue of Pedro Álvares Cabral (1467/1468 to c. 1520) in Lisbon, Portugal.

From Egypt. 5th-6th century CE. Made from copper alloy. (Hellenic Museum, Melbourne, Victoria).

From the Monastery of St Menas, Abu Mina, Egypt. 6th-7th century CE. Made from clay. (Hellenic Museum, Melbourne, Victoria).

From a workshop in Upper Egypt. The Greek inscription says "The Holy and Consubstantial Trinity Amen." 4th-5th century CE. Made from clay. (Hellenic Museum, Melbourne, Victoria).

From Egypt. 5th-7th century CE. Made from bone and paint. (Hellenic Museum, Melbourne, Victoria).