Yes, but perhaps not in the way you might imagine.The Great Wall of China was not impenetrable, although it did help defend against attacks.(Image credit: yangna via Getty Images)The Great Wall of China — built over the course of two millennia to bolster

Yes, no. Maybe so.At its height, the Roman Empire's roads traversed continents to connect important cities and towns to its capital city. This particular road is in Pompeii, Italy.(Image credit: Oliver Helbig via Getty Images)At the zenith of its control,

More recently than you might think.The Blue Mosque in Istanbul. The city was captured by the Ottomans in 1453, but when did its name change from Constantinople?(Image credit: Nikada via Getty Images)Istanbul is a rare place. It's the only city to straddle

(Image credit: Charlene Collins via Getty Images)The iconic green and red watermelon is a sweet, refreshing summer staple. But it wasn't always so sugary or vibrantly colored. So what didwatermelonsoriginally taste and look like, and from where did they o

Who says it did?

At its peak, the British Empire ruled a quarter of the world's surface and population, but it still isn't history's biggest empire.(Image: © Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)According to Guinness World Records, wh

Strip miners in the eastern Serbian townof Drmno uncovered a flat-bottomed ship and twomonoxyles, or dugout longboats, along the banks of an ancient tributary of the Danube near the garrison at the Roman city of Viminacium. Measuring nearly 50 feet long a

Shrouded in mystery, the Temple of Garni offers a rare glimpse into pre-Christian CaucasiaByBenjamin Kempersmithsonian.comJanuary 5, 2018"Church fatigue?” my tour guide asked rhetorically, noticing my dragging feet and glazed-over eyes. I’d never hea

On June 29 2014 – nearly three years ago to the day – Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took the pulpit at the Great Mosque of Al-Nuri in Mosul in northern Iraq.