The Knights Templar were revered throughout medieval Europe as the fiercest, wealthiest and most powerful military order of the era. So how were they obliterated with such devastating swiftness? Lies, spies and torture—lots of torture—masterminded by a power-hungry, money-mad ...read more
This strategic Holy Land port came under Western control during the First Crusade—but changed hands several times after. In 1291 it was the last Christian-held fortress in the Holy Land when it fell to the Mamluks—one of the most devastating events in Templar, and Western, ...read more
Why are Fridays that fall on a month’s 13th day so fearful? Some attribute the origins to the Code of Hammurabi, one of the world’s oldest legal documents, which may or may not have superstitiously omitted a 13th rule from its list. Others claim that the ancient Sumerians, who ...read more
The medieval crusading period threw up literally dozens of military orders–knights sworn to lead religious lives as well as fighting the enemies of Christ. We never hear about the mysteries of the Hospitallers. Or the secret bloodline of Jesus guarded by the Teutonic Order. Or ...read more
Researchers estimate that at least 10 percent of the U.S. population has a fear of the number 13, and each year the even more specific fear of Friday the 13, known as paraskevidekatriaphobia, results in financial losses in excess of $800 million annually, as people avoid ...read more
To understand Friday the 13th’s fall from grace, scholars have first tried to determine what about the number 13 rubs so many people across so many cultures the wrong way. Some have suggested that its nasty reputation dates back to at least 1780 B.C., when the ancient Babylonian ...read more
In the summer of 1947, a rancher discovered unidentifiable debris in his sheep pasture outside Roswell, New Mexico. Although officials from the local Air Force base asserted that it was a crashed weather balloon, many people believed it was the remains of an extraterrestrial ...read more
Nostradamus, the French astrologer and physician whose prophecies earned him fame and a loyal following during his lifetime, was born in 1503. In the centuries since his death, people have credited him with accurately predicting pivotal events in history, from the French ...read more
In popular culture, the term UFO–or unidentified flying object–refers to a suspected alien spacecraft, although its definition encompasses any unexplained aerial phenomena. UFO sightings have been reported throughout recorded history and in various parts of the world, raising ...read more
