Explore 49 Empire Collections - Atlas Obscura
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Woerden, Netherlands

Woerden Elagabal Inscription

This ancient stele gives a testimony to the presence of the Syrian sun god Elagabalus on the Roman Empire's western frontier.
Split, Croatia

Dioklecijanov Akvadukt (Diocletian Aqueduct)

This ancient Roman aqueduct once funneled water to Diocletian's palace.
books

The Itinerant Princess Who Chronicled Akbar’s Mughal Empire

The daughter, sister, and aunt of emperors, Gulbadan Begum wrote of a Mughal Empire few witnessed.
Ruby Lal March 6, 2024
This first-century bust shows a stern matriarch carved sometime during Roman Emperor Trajan's reign.
ancient

The Forgotten Women Who Shaped the Roman Empire

From a first-century poet to a Roman consul’s wife.
Line Sidonie Talla Mafotsing February 28, 2024
A herd of cattle roam a lush green pasture in Australia, home to several of the world's largest private landholdings.
maps

What Do King Charles III, the Pope, and the Canadian Inuit Have in Common?

Meet the world's largest landowners.
Frank Jacobs August 11, 2023
The ruins of Songo Mnara.
Songo Mnara Island, Tanzania

Songo Mnara

Mosques carved from coral and dozens of well-preserved stone structures fill this 500-year-old Swahili trading center.
Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum
Nanjing, China

Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum

One of the largest, grandest imperial mausoleums was built as the founder of the Ming Dynasty's final resting place.
Grand Empress Börte (left) and Genghis Khan, more accurately called Chinggis Khan, from a 16th-century book commissioned by Mughal emperor Akbar the Great, who claimed descent from the khan.
medieval

The Women Who Ran Genghis Khan’s Empire

From fighting in the army to managing the kingdom, women were key players in every aspect of the Mongol Empire.
Sarah Durn May 26, 2022
food

The Curious Case of Colonial India's Breakfast Curries

Even as the British Empire appropriated curry, authentic versions conquered local officials' tables.
Lily Kelting February 16, 2022
Astronomer Gianluca Masi captured this image of the International Space Station passing directly over Rome's Colosseum.
architecture

A View of the Space Age From the Classical World

This mesmerizing image brings the International Space Station and Rome's ancient Colosseum together.
Gemma Tarlach January 4, 2022
Aerial view of Castellum Fectio
Bunnik, Netherlands

Castellum Fectio

For years, the remains of this ancient Roman fortress were hidden under an orchard.
Wadi Halfa, Sudan

Church Pillars of Sai Island

These pillars are one of the few remnants from the mysterious lost empire of Makuria.
Temple at Baelo Claudio
Cádiz, Spain

Baelo Claudia

The ruins of a 2,000-year-old Roman fishing village perched on one of the best beaches in Spain.
ruins

Podcast: Kilwa Kisiwani

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team July 21, 2021
TK
women

Remembering the London Refuge for South Asian Nannies Far From Home

Abandoned by their employers after a months-long sea voyage, countless women found shelter here.
Radhika Iyengar May 25, 2021
Chiclayo, Peru

Paseo Yortuque

Stroll among dozens of statues depicting pre-Columbian kings, gods, and supernatural beings.
This Quran is small enough to fit inside a locket, and in your palm.
objects of intrigue

This Miniature Quran Bears Witness to an Immense History

It is an artifact of devotion, wealth, and empire.
Matthew Taub January 6, 2021
The 40s B.C. were not a fun time, especially for Caesar.
volcanoes

Did an Alaskan Volcano Help Change the Face of the Mediterranean World?

At the time, unrest roiled Egypt and an empire rose in Rome.
Isaac Schultz June 23, 2020