Ancient Ruins

These cities were once inhabited but due to wars, natural calamities and climate change, they were abandoned many, many years ago.

The world is home to a plethora of fascinating ancient ruins, from crumbling cities to temples that have withstood the test of time. These...

An ancient city constructed almost 1000 years ago and long since ruined, Great Zimbabwe was proof that black African culture, far from being inferior to colonial society, was in fact comparable. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe during the country’s Late Iron Age.

It might be difficult to imagine how an entire city can become lost in time, leaving nothing more than ruins in its wake. Whether due to war, natural disaster, climate change or other reasons, cities have risen and fallen throughout history.

Built in the 6th century before Islam had traveled to the central Afghanistan region, the two Buddhas of Bamiyan were famous for their beauty, craftsmanship and of course, size. The taller of the two Buddhas stood at more than 170 feet high, with the second statue at nearly 115 feet. They were once the world’s largest standing Buddhas.

Most Indians today are well aware of the two famous ancient universities of India which also are one of the oldest universities in the world – Takshashila University (Taxila) and Nalanda. But are these the only knowledge centers that existed in ancient India?

Ancient Vijayanagar, now known as the village of Hampi was the capital of the greatest and one of the most famed Hindu Kingdom of Vijaynagar. Located...

The ruins of Hampi, once a grand city in the Indian state of Karnataka, were once home to around 500,000 people in the Vijayanagara Empire, and filled with Hindu temples. The abandoned city is now dotted with hundreds of individual ruins, home to countless architectural wonders.

The Taxila university was a hub of over 10,000 students swarming in from different parts of the world to garner knowledge and education.