Islamic North Africa: Kairouan mosque (ca. 800 AD) The Eastern Roman reconquest of North Africa in the 530s AD ended the Vandal kingdom there. But trade declined until the Islamic invasions of North [...]
Sicily seen from space (the tip of Italy is on the right): the First Punic War was fought here. We know the Roman side Most of what we know about [...]
The Gnostics - Books of Roman Gnostic writings from Nag Hammadi in Egypt (300s AD) When were the Gnostics? About the time of Jesus, about 100 BC-100 AD, people living in the Eastern [...]
The Roman emperor Constantine - the first Christian emperor - had to deal with the Donatists When did the Donatists get started? Almost as soon as Constantine had won the battle [...]
Sacrifice certificate on papyrus from Oxyrhynchus, in Egypt, dating to the Decian persecution (about 3 inches wide) Rome celebrates 1000 Years About 249 AD, the situation of the Christians took a sharp turn for the worse. The [...]
Early Middle Ages: Interior of Hagia Sophia When is the Early Middle Ages? The Early Middle Ages comes after the fall of Rome, about 400 AD. But all the way through the [...]
The Rhine river, frozen over The Vandals first entered the collapsing Roman Empire from Germany in the winter of 409 AD. They crossed the frozen Rhine river with a group of Alans and Sueves. The [...]
History of pigs: A wild boar Where do pigs come from? The first pigs evolved in Southeast Asia from earlier, smaller mammals, about two million years ago, and spread out [...]
Roman baths of Cluny in Paris - barrel vault Making an arch into a roof Once you've built an arch, you know how to make a doorway or a window [...]
African salt caravan To have a chance to think about what these economic trades would have meant to African people, imagine you are one of these people (if you're in [...]
