Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, Muslim Sultan of Egypt and Syria, known to the west as Saladin, is certainly one of the most durably famous historical figures from the period of the Crusades. His political and military skills won him the admiration of the Muslim world. Unifying the forces of Islam, he struck the heaviest blows against the Crusader kingdoms, shattering a massive Christian army at Hattin and wresting Jerusalem from their control in 1187. But he is also remarkable as an historical rarity—a champion on one side of a bitter contest who was also admired by his opponents. His ferocity ..read more

The Mongol Subjugation of Novgorod (1238) In 1238, a 40,000-man Mongol horde led by Genghiz Khan’s grandson, Batu Khan, embarked on a campaign of conquest against the Rus. By the end of 1238 they had taken 14 major cities and razed them for failing to heed Batu’s ultimatums. Only two major cities in the northern Rus territories were spared: Pskov and Novgorod, which pledged fealty to the Great Khan and agreed to annually pay a tax based on 10 percent of their produce. Novgorod, a vital fur-trading center, was surrounded by potential enemies, including not only the Mongols, but the Swedes and a ..read more

It is a tale of paranoia, revenge, of kings and divided loyalties, and one family’s quest for honor. No, it is not the Wars of the Roses nor Julius Caesar’s civil war in Rome. It is the story of Spain’s Guzman family, and their epic generational mission to dominate the narrow peninsula of Gibraltar, slightly less than 3 miles wide, known popularly as “The Rock.” Cue up the “Game of Thrones” theme song and envision a giant boulder in the middle of the ocean.   The Ancestor Who Started It All   Gibraltar, the tip of the Iberian Peninsula known for its iconic rock formation that shoots ..read more

Timing was everything for Christopher Columbus and the handful of Europeans who initially followed in his wake after the Italian explorer “sailed the ocean blue in 1492.” Had such bold men crossed the Atlantic a scant seven decades earlier, they would have encountered, instead of scattered, primitive tribes, a civilization more than capable of halting their European intrusion into the New World. For more than a millennium the interconnected peoples of the Mississippian culture built cities, warred and traded across the trail systems and rivers lacing what today is the eastern half of the Unit ..read more

The cap badge is a special part of British army headdress intended to represent the emblems of unique regiments. Regimental insignia derives from military traditions in the Middle Ages, and thus cap badge designs are a type of heraldry. Cap badges were first worn in 1897 following a period of changes in army headdress. Cap badges are typically made of metal but during World War II the British produced them from plastic due to metal shortages. Each badge is highly symbolic and reflects the history and achievements of the regiment it represents. More than just an identifying mark, cap badges co ..read more

When a Christian encounters the name “Judas,” he or she instinctively thinks of Judas Iskariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus Christ to his persecutors in the new Testament. When a Jew encounters the name, he or she is just as likely to think of the hero behind the holiday of Hanukkah, Judas Maccabeus. Judah the Hammer As with Jesus, the heroic Judas’ most familiarly known moniker is based on Greek, the language of his Hellenistic adversaries. The third of five sons born to Mattathias of the Hasmonean family, priest (cohen) of Modein—the others being Eleazar, Simon, John and Jonathan—his Heb ..read more

A peculiar drink materializes across the United States every winter holiday season—at Christmas parties, in grocery stores, and at family gatherings for example. It is eggnog. As its name suggests, it contains eggs, along with milk, sugar, and heavy cream, plus spices such as nutmeg, vanilla or cinnamon. Alcoholic spirits, like whiskey, rum or bourbon, can also add some zing to eggnog. The creamy drink is a weird mix, and it tends to divide opinion. Maybe the mere sight of it is enough to make you duck for cover…or alternatively you might be called an eggnog hog. How did this strange beverage ..read more

In keeping with the medieval tradition of warrior kings leading their armies into battle, King Edward I of England spent most of his long and turbulent reign (1272–1307) in almost constant campaigning, be it in Wales, Scotland, continental Europe or the Holy Land. In October 1297 he had just concluded a papal-brokered armistice with his archenemy, French King Philip IV, amid the Franco-Flemish War when he received shocking news: An English army had suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of Scottish pikemen at Stirling Bridge that September 11, and the victorious Scots had since mount ..read more

The 1066 Battle of Hastings is the most famous engagement in British medieval history, as it raised the edifice of Norman England from the remains of the Anglo-Saxon state. The latter had been decisively defined, along with the subordinate status of Scotland and Wales, in the long lost to history 937 Battle of Brunanburh.  Britain in the early 10th century was divided and ruled by many kings and lesser factions battling for power. Almost relegated to mythical status, Brunanburh is re-emerging through the groundbreaking research of American historian Michael Livingston, supported by the l ..read more

Being an inspiration for wireless technology isn’t the kind of heroic achievement that most Viking rulers could claim credit for in their ancient sagas. Yet, centuries after his death, King Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson has conquered the world — not through military conquest, but through Bluetooth technology named in his honor.    Who Was Bluetooth? Bluetooth, who lived somewhere between 910 A.D. and 987 A.D., is believed to have earned his dental epithet from having a dead tooth which was likely bluish or gray in color. As it was Viking custom to give people bynames sometimes based o ..read more