Ancient-Origins.net

Ivan the Terrible, infamous for his tyrannical rule over Russia, had a complex romantic history with eight wives, each facing distinct and often tragic fates.

Anastasia Romanova, his first wife, brought out the best in Ivan until her mysterious death at 30, which fueled his descent into tyranny. Maria Temryukovna, the second wife, faced suspicion and an early death, intensifying Ivan's paranoia. Marfa Sobakina, the third wife, succumbed to an illness, triggering Ivan's relentless pursuit of a larger family. Anna Koltovskaya, his unconventional fourth wife, faced banishment, living out her days as a nun. Anna Vasilchikova, the fifth wife, met an early demise after failing to conceive.

• The Moscow Kremlin – Iconic Fortress of Russia
• The Rise of Ivan the Great and the Birth of The Russian Empire

Vasilisa Melentyeva, considered by some as a legend, faced a tumultuous marriage but possibly escaped to obscurity. Maria Dolgorukaya, the seventh wife, faced a grim fate for alleged infidelity.

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For almost 200 years, archaeologists have been puzzled by a mysterious brown stain on the ancient Greek Parthenon temple in Greece.

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The islands of Malta and Gozo in the Maltese archipelago are scarred with hundreds, if not thousands, of parallel lines seemingly cut deep into the stone. 

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Due to the growing independence and complexity of society, the greatest families in Rome met their downfalls.

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Since the 1970s, the work of Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi has seen a surge in popularity due to her unique perspective as a female artist of the 17th century.

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In the world of gladiators, once perceived as either heroic warriors or despised villains, their existence is marked by brutality and ritualized training rather than the romanticized notions of adventure.

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Rock paintings and engravings are among the world’s oldest continuously practiced art form and are as diverse as the wide-ranging cultures and civilizations that have produced them.

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Local traditions in County Kerry, Ireland, told of the destruction of an ancient tomb in the 19th century.

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Have you ever wondered where your last name comes from or what hidden stories it might hold? 

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Human evolution, spanning over 7 million years, once featured a diverse array of species, each with unique adaptations and survival strategies.

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Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it’s popularly believed that its fall to ‘barbaric’ forces by the beginning of the 5th century, plunged all of Europe into a ‘Dark Age’, where towns and villas experienced a rapid decline. 

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The Late Republic was in ruins. Civil war was common. Violence broke out between political factions. 

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In a groundbreaking revelation, researchers have unveiled the discovery of a vast submerged land to the north of contemporary Australia, that held up to 500,000 people.

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At the beginning of Herodotus’ Histories, the Athenian lawgiver Solon, one of the seven sages of ancient Greece, points out to his interlocutor Croesus, King of Lydia,

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In the 31st century BC, Narmer, an ambitious king of Upper Egypt, orchestrated a pivotal conquest, uniting both Upper and Lower Egypt and establishing himself as the first ruler of the combined lands.

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A highly contested find has been recovered from the bottom of a river in Poland. 

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A historically rich area, Utah has had a long history of vandalism and theft across archaeological and paleontological sites. 

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A new study presents evidence showing that Homo sapiens (modern humans) arrived in China approximately 45,000 years ago, or several thousand years earlier than previously suspected.

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Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, stands as a pivotal figure in European history.

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Researchers have linked the travels of a 14,000-year-old woolly mammoth with the oldest known human settlements in Alaska.

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