Rollo (Norman: Rou, Rollo(u)n; Old Norse: Hrólfr; French: Rollon; c. 860 – c. 930 AD) was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, today a region in northern France. Who came after the Normans? The Norman dynasty established by William the Conqueror ruled England for over half aRead More →
The main languages of the three south Caucasian countries, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, come from three entirely different language families – respectively Indo-European, Turkic, and Kartvelian. Georgian is the biggest Kartvelian language, and it is the only Caucasian language with an ancient literary tradition. What do Georgians look like? ItRead More →
It was after 840 that Scandanavian Vikings—who were known in Eastern Europe as “Varangians” or “Rus”—established Viking rule over Slavic tribes in what came to be called Kievan Rus. What was the relationship between the Slavs and Vikings? Viking traders sailed down rivers to trade with the Slavs and inRead More →
Like other Western Uralic and Baltic Finnish peoples, Finns originate between the Volga, Oka and Kama rivers in what is now Russia. The genetic basis of future Finns also emerged in this area. There have been at least two noticeable waves of migration to the west by the ancestors ofRead More →
Contact between Sweden and what is now Finland was considerable even during pre-Christian times; the Vikings were known to the Finns due to their participation in both commerce and plundering. There is possible evidence of Viking settlement in the Finnish mainland. Is Finnish a Nordic? The Nordic Region consists ofRead More →
The Pterosaurs and pterodactyls were once considered ancestors of birds, and there are certain similarities such as pneumatic bones, but the pterosaurs had a wing membrane like bats and no feathers. Birds evolved from a group of small bipedal dinosaurs. We find a number of animals that are gliders orRead More →
The Basques may be the oldest ethnic group in Europe. They are thought to have inhabited the southwestern corner of the continent since before Indo-European peoples came to the area approximately 5,000 years ago. Is Gypsy a Basque? The Cascarots (Basque: Kaskarotuak) are a Romani-like ethnic group from Spain whoRead More →
Arno loses his father at a young age just like the Italian Assassin, though Arno was considerably younger than Ezio at the time of his father’s death. … It’s not until many years later, after Arno has joined the Assassins and Elise has secured her place in the Templars, thatRead More →
Altaïr is an ancestor (on the maternal side) of Desmond Miles, the protagonist of the modern-day portions of the first five main games in the series. … The vault and Altaïr’s remains wouldn’t be discovered until centuries later, in 1512, by the Italian assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Which assassinsRead More →
Japheth, one of the three sons of Noah in the Bible. According to the tradition of the “Priestly” source of the Pentateuch, Japheth is Noah’s third son, but the older Yahwist tradition (Genesis 9:20–27) represents him as the second son. Where did Noah’s sons settle? Japhet, the son of Noah,Read More →