As the world’s earliest known civilization developed in Mesopotamia…as Genghis Khan worked to create the largest contiguous land empire in history…as the Ottomans occupied European and Asian lands for nearly 600 years…each empire had one thing in common. They all set up camp on a small plot of land in …

Sheikh Safi-ad-din Is’haq Ardabili (of Ardabil) (1252–1334) Shaikh Ṣāfī ad-Dīn Isḥāq Ardabīlī was the Kurdish and Sunni Muslim eponym of the Safavid dynasty, founder of the Safaviyya order, and the spiritual heir and son in law of the great Sufi Murshid (Grand Master) Sheikh Zahed Gilani, of Lahijan in Gilan …

Mesopotamia is a region of southwest Asia in the Tigris and Euphrates river system that benefitted from the area’s climate and geography to host the beginnings of human civilization. Its history is marked by many important inventions that changed the world, including the concept of time, math, the wheel, sailboats, …

    CONTENTS Zoroaster Persian Empire Muslim Conquest Parsi Religion Zoroastrian Symbols Zoroastrian Beliefs Thus Spoke Zarathustra Zoroastrianism in Western Culture SOURCES Zoroastrianism is an ancient Persian religion that may have originated as early as 4,000 years ago. Arguably the world’s first monotheistic faith, it’s one of the oldest religions …

  UPDATED: AUG 21, 2018 ORIGINAL: APR 2, 2012 Saladin HISTORY.COM EDITORS Saladin (1137/1138–1193) was a Muslim military and political leader who as sultan (or leader) led Islamic forces during the Crusades. Saladin’s greatest triumph over the European Crusaders came at the Battle of Hattin in 1187, which paved the …

The Indonesian archipelago, which is the largest island group in the world and very rich in natural resources, has been visited by sailors and traders from many parts of the world as long as there has been seaborne traffic. Wave upon wave of migrants arrived from mainland Southeast Asia; the …