Historical Archives & Collections

Raids, invasions and conquests carried out by Vikings across Europe from the 8th to 11th centuries.

Military expansion of the Mongol Empire across Eurasia during the 13th century.

Military conflicts and migrations involving Germanic, Hunnic and other peoples during Late Antiquity.

The Second Crusade (1147–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the Seljuk forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusade (1096–1099) by Baldwin in 1098. While it was the first Crusader state to be founded, it was also the first to fall.

The 1972 Andes flight disaster occurred on October 13, 1972, when a Uruguayan Air Force aircraft carrying a rugby team, friends, and family members crashed high in the Andes Mountains. The survivors became trapped in freezing temperatures, harsh weather conditions, and complete isolation at high altitude. With little food and almost no chance of immediate rescue, they were forced to make extremely difficult decisions in order to survive. After more than two months stranded in the mountains, two survivors successfully crossed the Andes to seek help, leading to the rescue of the remaining passengers. The event became internationally known and is regarded as one of the most extraordinary survival stories in modern history.

The Dyatlov Pass incident occurred in February 1959 in the northern Ural Mountains of the former Soviet Union. Nine experienced hikers and students led by Igor Dyatlov embarked on a skiing expedition but never returned. Search teams later discovered their destroyed campsite, which appeared to have been cut open from the inside, along with the bodies of the group members scattered across the snowy terrain under unusual and partially unexplained circumstances. Some victims were found inadequately dressed for the freezing temperatures, while others suffered severe internal injuries. The tragedy sparked numerous theories including avalanches, military experiments, infrasound effects, and other unexplained phenomena. To this day, the incident remains one of the most famous unsolved mysteries of the twentieth century.

The Great Boston Molasses Flood occurred on January 15, 1919, in Boston’s North End neighborhood when a massive storage tank containing millions of liters of molasses suddenly burst. A towering wave of thick molasses rushed through the streets at high speed, destroying buildings, sweeping away people and horses, and causing widespread devastation. Numerous people lost their lives and many others were seriously injured. The disaster led to major investigations into structural failures, industrial safety standards, and corporate responsibility. The event remains one of the most unusual industrial disasters in American history.

The Endurance expedition was a British Antarctic expedition led by Ernest Shackleton between 1914 and 1917. Its goal was to achieve the first land crossing of Antarctica. However, the expedition ship Endurance became trapped and eventually crushed by pack ice in the Weddell Sea. The crew was forced to survive for months under extreme conditions on drifting ice floes and remote islands. Shackleton later undertook a dangerous rescue journey across the South Atlantic to seek help for his men. Despite the severe hardships and constant danger, every member of the expedition survived. The Endurance expedition is widely regarded as one of the greatest examples of leadership, endurance, and survival in the history of polar exploration.