In today’s History newsletter: Was Jesus an only child? Here’s why scholars debate if Mary had more children. Plus, a Maya astronomer's name has been deciphered for the first time and we go inside the New Zealand Wars. 

But first: Hollywood gets one thing right about Ancient Rome. 

REBECCA HALE, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Gladiators really were sex symbols—just not in the way one might expect.

PETER HORREE, ALAMY 

Today’s newsletter was edited and curated by Sidney Madden and produced by Alisher Egamov. Thanks for reading! Did someone forward this to you? Sign up for all our newsletters here. 

Clicking on the Facebook, Instagram, and National Geographic Channel links will take you away from our National Geographic Partners site where different terms of use and privacy policy apply.

This email was sent to  [email protected]:  Please do not reply to this email as this address is not monitored.

This email contains an advertisement from:
National Geographic | 1145 17th Street, N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20036

Stop all types of future commercial email from National Geographic regarding its products, services, or experiences.
Manage all email preferences with the Walt Disney Family of Companies.

© 2026  National Geographic Partners, LLC, All rights reserved.