Posted inAncient Rome

Gaius Pontius, the Samnite Leader Who Defeated the Romans at the Caudine Forks and Was an Ancestor of Pontius Pilate

Throughout its long history, Rome achieved numerous military victories that allowed it to grow, expand, and dominate nearly the entire known world in Antiquity. But it also suffered defeats, and some proved especially painful due to the circumstances in which they occurred. One of them, surely among the worst due to the humiliation it entailed, […]

Posted inModern Era

The Battle of Lake Erie: The Naval Clash Between Americans and British That Prevented an Invasion From Canada

Dear General: We have met the enemy and they are ours. Two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop. This telegram might not resonate with most readers, but among enthusiasts of Anglo-American naval history, it holds a certain fame. On September 10, 1813, Admiral Oliver Hazard Perry sent this message to his superior, U.S. […]

Posted inSecond World War

The Invasion of Saint Pierre and Miquelon in 1941, the Only Nazi Germany-loyal Territory in North America, Lasted 20 Minutes

Saint Pierre and Miquelon (Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon), a French archipelago of two islands located in North America about twenty-five kilometers off the coast of Newfoundland, is the last remaining vestige of the former Viceroyalty of New France (which encompassed parts of what are now Canada and the United States, such as Quebec and Louisiana). Like other territories, […]

Posted inIron Age Archaeology, Prehistory

The Hjortspring Boat: The Celts Who Attacked a Danish Island in 350 BCE and Ended as a Votive Offering

The Hjortspring Boat was discovered in 1921 in the Hjortspring Bog on the island of Als, southern Denmark. It is considered the oldest archaeological evidence of naval construction found in Scandinavia. Dating back to around 350 BCE, the boat measures over 19 meters (62 feet) in overall length and 2 meters (6.5 feet) in beam. […]

Posted inMiddle Ages

The Victorious Battle of the Masts Against the Byzantines Was The First Major Naval Combat of Islam

When we think about the early conquests of Islam, we imagine vast numbers of warriors riding camels across deserts, waving banners adorned with the crescent moon and Quranic verses. However, this expansion also took place by sea. In the year 655, after the conquest of the Sasanian Empire, the Rashidun Caliphate turned against the Byzantine […]