Discover how medieval societies defined worth—not just in gold and wages, but through symbolic treasures, priceless gifts, and the stories objects carried.
Starting January 23, 2025 is a six-week online course: The Crusades 1095-1187: A Multi-Perspective History.
The Teutonic Knights, a prominent military order, were active primarily in the Baltic region but also played a significant role in the Near East and Transylvania. This book explores their origins, rise to regional dominance, and eventual decline.
From violent disputes to daring robberies, the streets of Cairo often became a stage for chaos, where justice was swift and brutal.
The flail, with its chain and spiked ball, is an iconic image of medieval weaponry in the collective imagination. However, its actual use on medieval battlefields is highly contested
This week, Danièle speaks with Florin Curta about why it’s taken the field so long to address Eastern Europe, why we need to look at enslavement as part of our understanding of the European Middle Ages broadly, and how we can all get started including Eastern Europe in our scholarship, is coming up right after this.
An archaeological excavation near Kiryat Gat, a city southwest of Jerusalem, has uncovered a Byzantine monastery with a mosaic floor featuring a Greek inscription, as well as a sophisticated winepress and other ancient structures.
Discover how medieval healers used liquorice, saffron, and other surprising ingredients to craft remedies for coughs over a thousand years ago.
The Avars, a group that arrived in the region from the East Asian steppes in the 6th century AD, settled among a diverse local population. However, questions lingered about the ancestry of those buried in these 8th-century sites: were they descendants of the Avar conquerors, the local populations, or a mixture of both?
A collection of 76 letters and charters from 15th-century Wallachian rulers, including eight letters penned by Vlad III, the notorious prince who inspired the legend of ‘Dracula.’
For those trying to win wars in the ancient world, large armies were a neccessity. However, the personal prestige earned from a victory in single combat was still unmatched. Theme: Single combat in antiquity Ross Cowan, 'An introduction to single combat - Honorable scars'. Owain Williams, 'Heroic duels of mass combat - Homeric warfare'. Valentine Belfiglio, 'Rome's greatest soldier - Lucius Siccius Dentatus'. Murray Dahm, 'Titus Manlius versus the Latins - Single combat with consequences'. Ross Cowan, 'Valerius, the Gaul, and the interpreter - Provocat per interpretem'. Lindsay Powell, 'The end of single combat - A final blow'. Features: Jasper Oorthuys, '100 times Ancient Warfare - Doing the homework'. Anneka Rene, 'Diomedes and prophecy - The hero's fate'. Juan Quiroz, 'The impact of political economy - Manpower crisis'. Velite Aquila, 'Roman socii in the Middle Republic - Etruscan style'. Pavel Vaverka, 'Asserting their independence - The Lamian War'. Jo Ball, 'Three standard-bearers' dedication - A parting gift'.
Founded in the war against Sextus Pompeius, the 'Legion of the Strait' spent most of its long history in the provinces of the Roman East with Parthians, Sasanians, and zealots. Theme: Legio X Fretensis Lindsay Powell, 'A history of Legio X Fretensis - Guardians of the Strait'. Lindsay Powell, 'The careers of Legio X Fretensis soldiers - Tours of duty'. Murray Dahm, 'Legio X Fretensis at Masada - Putting an end to resistance'. Murray Dahm, 'Legio X at Amida, AD 359 - Fretensis or Fortenses'. Features: Przemysław Mazur, 'Assyrian-style expansion: Before me, cities, behind me, ruins'. Jo Ball, 'The tombstone of Caius Marius - Death of a citizen cavalryman'. Aquila Velite, 'Italian mercenaries abroad - The Mamertines'. Aaron Beek, 'The rise of the peltast - What's in a name?'. Christina Sponsel-Schaffner, 'Painting techniques for Roman shields - Per aspera ad astra'. Annelies Koolen, 'The tactics of Numidian cavalry - Bridled or unbridled?'. Murray Dahm, 'The sarcophagus of Helena - Puzzle in porphyry'.
