Category
Empires & Dynasties
How empires, kingdoms and ruling houses rose, held on and fell apart — and what they left on the map.
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People
Olga of Kiev: Revenge, Regency and Sainthood
Olga of Kiev buried envoys alive and burned a city with birds, then became a saint. Here is what really happened and what the sources say.
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Empires & Dynasties
Volga Bulgaria: The Trading Kingdom on the Volga
Volga Bulgaria was a Muslim Turkic kingdom on the Volga and Kama that grew rich on furs and silver. Discover its story, from AD 922 to the Mongols.
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War & Warriors
The Varangian Guard: The Viking and English Axemen Who Guarded Byzantium
Who were the Varangian Guard? Discover how Viking and English axemen guarded Byzantine emperors from AD 988 to c. 1400, what they earned and how it ended.
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Empires & Dynasties
Who Was Rurik? The Viking Founder of the Rurikid Dynasty
Was Rurik real? See what the chronicles and archaeology say about the Viking founder of the Rurikid dynasty, which ruled Rus' and Russia until 1598.