Genghis Khan is said to have killed 1,748,000 people in one hour. Did he really do it? And if not, what really happened? See more »

It kept the Huns out for centuries, but today it draws 10 million visitors annually. The Great Wall winds across deserts, mountains and grasslands in even the most remote reaches of China. So why has it fallen into disrepair? See more »

Emperor Qin ordered 7,000 generals, cavalrymen and archers to protect his mausoleum. What's so odd about that? Well, they were made of terracotta. See more »

Petra, an ancient city in what is now southwestern Jordan, 115 miles (185 km) south-southwest of Amman, was the ancient capital of the Nabataeans. Read more about this city carved into a sheer rock face. See more »

Mesopotamia, the region of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in southwestern Asia. The region extends northwestward from the Persian Gulf through the center of modern Iraq. See more »

Fertile Crescent, an area, shaped roughly like a crescent, of fertile land in southwestern Asia where civilization flourished during ancient times. See more »

Java Man, an early form of human whose remains have been found on the island of Java. See more »

Nineveh, an ancient city and the capital of Assyria when the empire was at the height of its power. See more »

Peking Man, an early form of human whose remains date from 460,000 to 230,000 years ago. See more »

Phoenicia, in ancient times, a coastal strip along the eastern Mediterranean Sea. See more »