Cao Cao gazes at the full moon over the Yangtze River

The Flaming Ships of Red Cliffs

The trading routes of the Great Silk Road linked the empire of the Han to its mirror image in the west, the Roman Empire.

Eric Mills
January 2023
pirate

Last Stand of the Gentleman Pirate

Penniless, bereft of options, devoid of opportunities—such are the usual conditions that steer a soul toward a life of outlawry.

Eric Mills
September 2022
Battle of Cape Ecnomus

The Great Sea’s Greatest Battle

Two tongues, one name: “Great Sea”—the Mediterranean, nurturing mother of the cultures of antiquity.

Eric Mills
August 2022
illustration

The King Who Became Lord of the Sea

At the 1340 Battle of Sluys, the outnumbered English succeeded in crushing the French in a showdown that shaped the destiny of the Hundred Years’ War.

Eric Mills
January 2022
Painting, Battle of Actium

Lovers, War Galleys, And The Rise Of An Empire

Rivalry, power-plays, one of the world’s most legendary love affairs . . . Add a decisive naval battle into that mix, and you’ve got history in overdrive.

Eric Mills
November 2021