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News Articles: European history

Scholars Susan Ashbrook Harvey, left, and Robin Darling Young became 'sworn siblings' after an ancient ritual at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

How two good friends became sworn siblings — with the revival of an ancient ritual

Thousands of years ago, there was a ceremony to bind close friends together as sworn siblings. Could the practice be resurrected today to strengthen modern friendships? Two women did just that.

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By:
  • Pien Huang and
  • Rhaina Cohen
The Russian Black Sea naval headquarters at Sevastopol, Crimea, in 2008. In the background on the right is a Russian destroyer. The Russian tall ship Padalla (with white sails) is in the center. In the foreground is the Monument to Scuttled Ships, marking Russia's intentional destruction of its own naval fleet in the Crimean War in 1854 as British and French warships approached.

How Russia's current war in Ukraine echoes its Crimean War of the 1850s

Russia had a more powerful army. It didn't think the West would intervene. The invasion was poorly planned. We're not talking about Russia's current war, but about Russia's Crimean War in the 1850s.

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By:
  • Greg Myre