Images

Gold dinar of Shajara al-Durr, sultana of Egypt (r. 1250 CE). The British Museum, London.

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...

This map illustrates the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the earliest and most extensive administrative division of the Spanish Empire. At its peak, it encompassed a vast array of territories across North America, the Caribbean, and Asia, serving...

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).