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For centuries, one of the most important cities of the ancient world lay hidden beneath dust, war zones, and shifting rivers. Alexandria on the Tigris—once a thriving center of long-distance trade connecting Mesopotamia with India and beyond—vanished from historical memory after late antiquity. Now, an international research team led by Professor Stefan Hauser of the University of Konstanz has successfully rediscovered and reinterpreted this lost metropolis, revealing its crucial role in ancient global commerce.A City Founded by Alexander the Great In the 4th century BCE, Alexander the Great conquered the Achaemenid Persian Empire, reshaping the political and economic landscape of...

Long before submarines and modern ocean exploration, Alexander the Great embarked on an underwater expedition that blurred the line between history and legend. Beyond his military conquests, he constantly sought the unknown, from frozen northern deserts to mysterious islands, pushing himself into territories where no one else dared to venture. One story, preserved in the Pseudo-Callisthenes Alexander Romance, recounts an extraordinary underwater odyssey, blending daring, ingenuity, and mythical creatures that seem to leap from the page. Even in the realm of myth, few tales capture the adventurous spirit of Alexander like this one. A journey in the dark: Northern deserts...

This video features an extremely rare decadrachm of Alexander the Great - a coin that the conqueror himself might have presented to one of his officers. Alexander the Great held this coin (maybe) | 4:14 Toldinstone Footnotes | 44.2K subscribers | 3,217 views | December 2, 2025 Coins [Toldinstone Footnotes search]

Greek City Times reports that archaeologists renewed excavations at Mieza in northern Greece, a site connected with the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle. According to Greek historians, it was in the ancient Macedonian city that Aristotle tutored the young Alexander the Great between 343 and 340 b.c. Recent work there centered on investigation and conservation of the monumental gymnasium, a space dedicated to both physical and intellectual training. New dating confirmed that it was built around the middle of the fourth century b.c., strengthening the site's ties to Aristotle, Alexander, and his father Phillip II. The enormous complex was planned and...

Scattered across Central Asia are the ruins of what was once known as The Thousand Cities of Greek Bactria. This video explores those lost cities and their fate. The Lost Thousand Cities of Greek Bactria | 18:05 The Historian's Craft | 117K subscribers | 18,782 views | July 3, 2025

The dominant literary culture of the late 20th century loved to tear down the heroes of the past, focusing almost entirely on their flaws while belittling the virtues, beliefs, and deeds that made them worthy of admiration in the first place. I have written about this annoying tendency previously on several occasions, including here and here. In our own time, we are afflicted with a slightly different problem: cultural arbiters who know almost nothing about the great men and women who went before them, save the cherry-picked anecdotes that magically seem to support their political cause of the moment. It...

“The Quran gained a popular readership among Protestants both in England and in North America largely out of curiosity,” says Denise A. Spellberg, a history professor at the University of Texas at Austin and author of Thomas Jefferson’s Qu'ran: Islam and the Founders. “But also because people thought of the book as a book of law and a way to understand Muslims with whom they were interacting already pretty consistently, in the Ottoman Empire and in North Africa.” When Jefferson bought his Quran as a law student in 1765, it was probably because of his interest in understanding Ottoman law....

There are many similarities between Alexander the Great of Greece and Cyrus the Great of Persia. Alexander admired Cyrus from infancy and strove to be a conqueror like him. Interestingly, both individuals possessed a remarkably uncommon characteristic. Alexander the Great and Cyrus the Great both featured in Jewish prophecies. Jewish prophecies The ancient scriptures of the Jews feature numerous prophecies, declarations about the future that the Jews believe came from God. They constitute a significant portion of the Old Testament section of the Bible. The Jews produced many prophetic books, especially between the ninth and the fifth centuries BCE. These...

Reseachers uncover a pyramid-like structure in the Judean Desert, photo taken March 2025 (photo credit: JUDEAN DESERT SURVEY UNIT, ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY) =============================================================================== Experts uncover a massive pyramid-shaped structure, ancient papyrus documents and rare artifacts from Hellenistic-era rule in southern Israel, shedding new light on the region’s history. An excavation in the Judean Desert unearthed a massive 2,200-year-old pyramid-shaped structure alongside ancient papyri, weapons, tools, and fabrics, which experts are calling one of the richest archaeological excavations in the area. The Israel Antiquities Authority and the Heritage Ministry, which are jointly leading the dig north of Nahal Zohar, say...

The Battle of the Granicus was Alexander's first major clash with the Persian Empire, signaling the start of his conquest of Asia Minor. The victory not only demonstrated Alexander's military brilliance but also opened the gateway for his future campaigns that would ultimately dismantle the Persian Empire and lay the foundation for the Hellenization of large parts of Asia. However, this Hellenization was relatively short-lived, as about a century later, the rise of the Parthian Empire saw large parts of the former Achaemenid territories reclaimed under Iranian rule...The research team used ancient texts to map Alexander's journey to the Granicus....

Azeri president says apology isn’t enough, in confrontation that shows Moscow’s waning influence over former Soviet territories. Azerbaijan’s president accused Russia of trying to cover up its role in a plane crash that killed 38 people, delivering a harsh condemnation that signaled a reversal of the power dynamics that long saw Moscow hold sway over its former Soviet republics. President Ilham Aliyev said Sunday that Azerbaijan had laid out for the Kremlin the necessary conditions to satisfy the country, demanding that Russia take responsibility for causing the crash, provide compensation for the country and victims’ families, and bring those guilty...

An international team of archaeologists, led by Antonis Bartsiokas with Democritus University of Thrace, in Greece, has uncovered evidence that a tunic found in one of the Royal Tombs at Vergina once belonged to Alexander the Great. In his paper published in the Journal of Field Archaeology, Bartsiokas outlines the evidence surrounding the purple and white tunic and also claims that he and his team have definitively identified the remains of three of the people entombed at the famous burial site. Prior research has suggested that several members of Alexander the Great's family were laid to rest in the Royal...

Mystery of The Ancient Greek City Bizarrely Located in Afghanistan | 8:05Discovery Future | 24K subscribers | 13,393 views | October 12, 2024

Modern society's focus on credentials has created a two-tiered system, where multi-talented individuals are criticized, and elites oversee a dependent underclass. The songwriter, actor, country/western singer, musician, U.S. Army veteran, helicopter pilot, accomplished rugby player and boxer, Rhodes scholar, Pomona College and University of Oxford degreed, and summa cum laude literature graduate, Kris Kristofferson, recently died at 88. Americans may have known him best for writing smash hits like “Me and Bobby McGee” and “For the Good Times,” his wide-ranging, star-acting roles in A Star is Born and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, his numerous solo albums, especially with...

Watch as Josh Gates and researchers use augmented reality to match a Macedonian funerary block from the Crypt of St. Mark to a sarcophagus found in Alexandria, suggesting the remains may belong to Alexander the Great. By reconstructing the missing blocks, they reveal the complete tomb’s appearance for the first time, confirming a precise physical fit between the sarcophagus and it's casing.Josh Gates Uncovers Alexander's Lost Tomb | Expedition Unknown | 4:09Discovery | 5.88M subscribers | 88,165 views | July 5, 2024

Grapefruit is weird even among other citrus fruits.The Weird History of Grapefruit | 16:20The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered | 1.36M subscribers | 117,898 views | September 18, 2024

Alexander the Great was the world most feared warrior king. He died Pharaoh of Egypt and his body was a powerful political tool that enabled anyone possessing it to claim Egypt for themselves. His tomb was seen in the 4th Century AD in ancient Alexandria, and ever since people have searched hoping to find this holy grail of archaeology. Now using evidence from Alexander’s own journey through Egypt, we are perhaps close to solving one of history’s most enduring mysteries.

Both Buddhism and Stoicism emphasize self-control, ethical living, and the attainment of a passionless state. However, the Indian philosophy predated Stoicism by about 500 years. Did Buddhism influence Greek Stoicism and thought, and, if so, how did it do so a continent away? Similarities between Stoicism and Buddhism: A shared path to inner peace Practitioners of Stoicism and Buddhism deeply understand life’s impermanence and the need to overcome desires. The philosophies teach mental discipline and detachment from external circumstances as paths to inner peace. In Stoicism, “apatheia” means freedom from emotional disturbance, closely mirroring Buddhism’s “nirvana,” the liberation from suffering....

Alexander the Great, who lived from July 356 BC to June 323 BC, was an intrepid conqueror and one of the most brilliant military generals in history. More importantly, however, he laid the cultural foundations for the establishment of the ancient Hellenistic world, all the way from Alexandria in Egypt to the borders of India. By his own admission, Alexander endeavored to conquer lands all the way to the “ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea.” He and his legions invaded India in the year 326 BC, winning an important victory over the Pauravas at the Battle of...

Just like in modern times, many people in antiquity enjoyed visiting the tombs of famous historical figures. One of the most famous historical figures in the Greco-Roman world was Alexander the Great. According to ancient records, one of the Roman emperors visited his tomb. However, while doing so, this Roman emperor ended up breaking off Alexander the Great’s nose. Did this really happen, though? The tomb of Alexander the Great Alexander the Great died in the fourth century BCE in the year 323. He was buried in a magnificent tomb, which was just as famous in antiquity as it is...