NB! · The East · Monarchies · Mores · People

In his will Alexander the Great asked that his coffin be carried through all his dominions, with one of his hands left hanging outside, so that all might see that he goes to the grave empty-handed

The East · Monarchies · People

Borodin’s musical picture “In Central Asia” for the anniversary of Alexander II’s reign

During his visit to Kazakhstan, Pope Francis confessed that he had known nothing of Central Asia before, apart from the music of Borodin. To catch the link between, presumably, Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin and the Central Asian region, where the composer never lived, never served and never set foot, is rather

Archaeology · The East · Observations · Science

A 1.8-Million-Year-Old Tooth Found in Excavations at Dmanisi in Georgia

Research team leader Georgy Bidzinashvili displays a human tooth 1.8 million years old, found during excavations at Dmanisi in Georgia. This and a number of other finds make the localities of Orozmani and Dmanisi the oldest sites of human settlement in the world outside Africa. But I think we

Archive · The East · Geography · Mores

"The Portuguese of Hormuz Eat in Water, Because the Ground Is Very Hot"

"The Portuguese of Hormuz eat in water, because the ground is very hot." An illustration from a sixteenth-century Portuguese codex. Quite so, and quite literally: that is exactly what they did. Fleeing the unbearable heat, the Portuguese who had settled in the Persian Gulf began to fill

NB! · Archaeology · Archive · The East · Heritage

This is how the warriors of the Terracotta Army looked just after their discovery in 1974, but their colours very quickly faded under the effects of the environment

The East · Monarchies · People · Saint Petersburg

In 1790 a delegation of Greek captains arrived in Saint Petersburg to meet Catherine the Great and to ask her, in the name of the Greek people, for help in their struggle against the Turks

In 1790 a delegation of Greek captains arrived in Saint Petersburg to meet Catherine the Great and to ask her, in the name of the Greek people, for help in their struggle against the Turks. But the chief point of the Souliots' appeal was a request that Catherine give

Archive · The East · Observations · Science · People · Saint Petersburg

Academician Abich resigned from the Academy in 1865 over his work on the geological map of the Caucasus

On the Probity of Scholars. In November 1865 Academician Abich asked to be released from the Academy and renounced the title of full member, since at that time he was unable to attend the Academy's sessions and to bear the duties of a member of the conference on

NB! · Archive · The East · Books · People

Salman Rushdie as a Child in Bombay

The East · Geography · Maps · Monarchies · Society

Catherine the Great's Greek Project: A Plan to Crush the Ottoman Empire

Out of the shards of the Ottoman possessions, Catherine planned to fashion a New Byzantine realm for her grandson Constantine, who was to be enthroned in Constantinople. On the map these lands are marked in red. Catherine is believed to have put faith in the Orthodox prophecy of Constantine, the

NB! · The East · Geography · Maps · Humour

A map showing the spread of dumplings along the Great Silk Road and other trade routes of antiquity

A map showing the spread of dumplings along the Great Silk Road and other trade routes of antiquity. Today you will see nothing more important

Faith · The East · Observations · Society · People

The Syracusan moneylender Timon and the finances of the Delian sanctuary in the 2nd century BC

Met an interesting character. Timon of Syracuse lived on Delos in the 2nd century BC and was a moneylender. The very sacred island on which Apollo was born proved quite conducive to the growth of commerce and the financial sector. Among Timon's borrowers, we know, was the federation

NB! · Architecture · Faith · The East · Heritage