Did the Dutch choose to give up their empire? — Carthage was put to the torch by the monoculture of Rome. The thrifty Venetians suffered a slow and unending demise over the course of two centuries. As for the British, their core identity was weakened after two world wars before their replacement for the rising Western power. In between the…

The Last Outpost of Byzantium — The many islands of Greece carry the scent of its previous diverse cultures masked with a modern Hellenic facade that marks the island as a Greek territory. The largest of these islands, Crete, carries a particular, Italian atmosphere that has long gone stale over the centuries. Venice, the first Sea…

The secret to Roman success? — The greatest danger in history is the mobilization of the subject through generalization and one-sided statements. Classical Antiquity has been used as an object of narratives and altercations for centuries. The Ancient Civilization of Rome has been utilized for a standard narrative of cultural superiority and the “father of Western…

The mystery behind lions and flags answered — Lions are symbols of power, strength and bravery. In the vanity of ancient glory, monarchs across the globe have used these animals to build images of ferocity. Flags have featured these golden animals since the earliest empires emerged. Seeing the different ways ancient rulers and cultures have implemented lions on…

The bridge between two eras — The Italian republics of the Renaissance are taught as a phenomena that marked a high point in European culture and history. However, the fall of these republics is often glossed over, as soon after the 16th century, Europe outgrew the beautiful but modest fields of Italy for extravagant crowns. The…

The overshadowed fact of Mesopotamia — The story of cities has long been thought to be a simple process. Our ancestors were primitive hunter-gatherers until, somewhere along the line, they discovered agriculture, which displaced the need for hunter-gatherer societies. Mesopotamia is said to be the centre of this process, with its naturally abundant agricultural lands along…

The end of two mighty worlds from different eras of gold — In the game of empires, the greatest states often fall the hardest. The consolidation of empires is the time when weakness begins to brew, as, without the distraction of glorious conquests, internal strife begins to divide the elite. Once the stench of weakness has taken hold, the rulers are consumed…