Matt Salusbury

A Saturnalia scene showing the Roman pagan festival in full swing beneath the statue of Saturn. Art by Jean Grandjean, c. 18th century. Albertina. Public Domain.

Did the Romans Invent Christmas?

Did the first Christian Roman emperor appropriate the pagan festival of Saturnalia to celebrate the birth of Christ? Matt Salusbury weighs the evidence.

The Koran on ‘Christian’ paper

Paper was used in the Islamic world long before it appeared in the Christian West. But when Renaissance Europe mastered its manufacture, writes Matt Salusbury, it presented Muslim scholars with some theological conundrums.