51. Vikings: Slavs to Slaves

Who were the Italian sailors who stole the bones of St Nicolas from his church in Turkey in 1087? How was the mythology of St Nicolas combined with Germanic pagan stories of Odin riding a white horse accompanied by ravens? How did polar-mania and Coca Cola advertising transform D ...  Show more

The original Santa Claus, Saint Nicolas, was a real bishop from Myra in modern-day Turkey, whose tomb there was popular with pilgrims, but 700 years after his death, a group of sailors decided to steal his magic bones… What myth about St Nicolas first associated him with gift-giv ...  Show more

Dans cet épisode de Crousti-History, on vous parle de l’histoire des Vikings. - Et les Viqueens alors ?À partir du 8e siècle, des peuples du nord de l’Europe viennent semer la zizanie sur le continent. Vous l’aurez compris, ce sont les Vikings. On les imagine souvent comme des ba ...  Show more

The Parthians were heavyweights of ancient Mesopotamia. Hailing from what is now modern day Iran, they charged onto the scene by destroying the Seleucid Empire and became one of Rome’s most formidable enemies. They are perhaps most famous for capturing Crassus - Rome’s spider- ...

Under a loophole of Muslim law, a sultan could take one-fifth of the spoils of war, including slaves. Learn how the sultan began a slave army -- and why would someone would want to be a soldier-slave -- in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com.

Support this podcast on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/historyofvikingVisit my friend and Swedish blacksmith, Philip Lufolk: https://lufolk.comMedieval Scandinavians and other Germanic peoples celebrated a holiday called Yule during the time of year when days became longer and ...  Show more