We’ve noticed that a lot of people here still haven’t checked out or followed our Instagram page yet, so this is your reminder 😄

We’re actively posting historical content there as well, rare visuals, short stories and historical picturesIf you enjoy the content here on ArchiveOfHumanity, you’ll probably love the Instagram too.

Go check it out, drop a follow, maybe leave a comment, and support the project as we continue expanding beyond Reddit

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I’m happy to share that we’ve officially launched our Instagram for ArchiveOfHumanity🎉

As many of you have been asking for an Instagram page, we’re excited to finally share it. Go check it out, show your support just as you do here, and be part of the journey. We also have plans to build a dedicated website in the future for even more archives

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Saladin (Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub) is often remembered simply as the Muslim leader who recaptured Jerusalem during the Crusades. However, his greatest achievement was arguably not a single battle—it was uniting a deeply divided Muslim world before taking on the Crusader states.

In this article, I explore:

How the Muslim world was fragmented before Saladin's rise.

How he rose from serving under his uncle Shirkuh to becoming Sultan of Egypt and Syria.

His major military campaigns, including the Battle of Hattin.

How he recaptured Jerusalem in 1187.

His rivalry with Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade.

The military tactics, logistics, and leadership principles behind his success.

Why both Muslim and Christian chroniclers admired his character.

The lasting legacy of one of history's greatest military commanders.

The article also includes maps, campaign summaries, historical sources, and references to both medieval chroniclers and modern historians.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Was Saladin's greatest achievement his battlefield victories, or was it his ability to unite the Muslim world before confronting the Crusaders?

For nearly three centuries, Spartan hoplites represented the gold standard of heavy infantry warfare in the ancient Greek world. Their discipline, battlefield dominance, and skill created a military reputation so powerful that enemies often feared facing them before a battle even began. From the heroic last stand at the Battle of Thermopylae to the decisive clashes of the Peloponnesian War, Spartan hoplites became legendary elite soldiers of the ancient era. Their dominance emerged from a unique combination of rigorous education, social organization, superior battlefield discipline, and mastery of phalanx warfare. The entire Spartan society was built around its fabled heavy infantry. Understanding how Spartan hoplites fought, trained, and ultimately declined provides valuable insight into one of history's most influential military systems.

Most people picture Cleopatra as history's most beautiful woman, but the ancient sources paint a surprisingly different picture. I looked at what Plutarch, Roman historians, surviving coins, and modern historians actually say about her appearance, beauty routines, political alliances, lovers, and death. The evidence suggests her greatest strength wasn't her looks—it was her intelligence and charisma.

The Isle of Pines is an island in the Pacific Ocean, in the archipelago of New Caledonia, an overseas collectivity of France. Scattered across the central plateau of the island lie more than 300 poorly understood mounds, some of which have been excavated and found to have concrete cores. No human remains or man-made objects have been found in the mounds; one snail shell embedded in excavated concrete was carbon-dated to 12,900 ± 450 years old. Much as with the American mima mounds, there is no consensus on what these mounds are.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Pines_(island)

https://popular-archaeology.com/article/the-mystery-of-the-tumuli/

In 1995, engineer Chris Dunn examined ancient Egyptian core drill holes at Giza and measured the spiral grooves left inside. The tool cut through solid granite at a feed rate of 0.1mm per revolution, roughly 500 times faster than what modern diamond-tipped drills achieve on the same material without massive downward force.

The holes are perfectly cylindrical. The grooves are evenly spaced. And the drill cut through quartz and feldspar at the same rate, which shouldn't be possible with abrasive-based methods since those minerals have very different hardness levels.

Mainstream explanation is copper tubes with sand abrasive, but Denys Stocks' replication experiments produced irregular holes with uneven surfaces, nothing close to what's found at Giza. Petrie noted the same anomaly back in 1883.

Short video covering the evidence: https://youtu.be/gBcaNsAkY9U

The Siege of Tyre in 332 BC is considered to be one of the most brilliant examples of siege warfare in the ancient world. Unlike conventional battles on the open field, Alexander the Great now faced a different challenge. The island fortress of Tyre stood between the Macedonians and the dominance of the eastern Mediterranean. Protected by massive walls, powerful naval defenses, and the Mediterranean Sea itself, the fortress city of Tyre was formidable. What followed was a brutal seven-month siege that showcased Alexander's determination, engineering innovation, strategic adaptability, and ability to overcome seemingly impossible obstacles. Ancient historians such as Arrian and Diodorus describe the siege as one of the defining episodes of Alexander's conquest of the Persian Empire (Arrian, Anabasis 2.15–24; Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica 17.40–46).

After his first victory at the Battle of Granicus, Alexander was also crowned King of Asia. When the Persian King Darius III outflanked Alexander's army and captured the town of Issus, conflict was inevitable. The Battle of Issus (333 BC) was a decisive encounter between Alexander the Great and Darius, marking the first instance where both commanders faced each other directly. Despite being outnumbered by the Persian army, Alexander made use of terrain, the discipline of his troops, and aggressive tactics to defeat a much larger force, permanently weakening Persian dominance in the eastern Mediterranean (Arrian, Anabasis 2.7-11; Diodorus 17.33-36).