Celebrate Our Anniversary with Trivia!
Join us on August 23 for a free virtual trivia party featuring questions about ancient civilizations, U.S. history, unusual historical facts, pop culture, and more.
$281 / $5000
Featured
Article
The Aztec New Fire Ceremony
The New Fire Ceremony, also known as the Binding of the Years Ceremony, was a ritual held every 52 years in the month of November on the completion of a full cycle of the Aztec solar year (xiuhmopilli). The purpose of it was none other than to renew the sun and ensure another 52-year cycle...
Featured
Definition
Odyssey - Homer's Epic Poem of Redemption
Homer's Odyssey is an epic poem written in the 8th century BCE which describes the long voyage home of the Greek hero Odysseus. The mythical king sails back to Ithaca...
Featured
Image
Ragnarök: The Complete Timeline - The End and Rebirth of the Norse World
Ragnarök, often translated as the “doom” or “fate of the gods”, is the climactic destruction and renewal of the cosmos in Norse mythology. Its...
Featured
Image
The Bayeux Tapestry: The Story of 1066 - Conquest, Propaganda, and the Norman Claim to England
The Bayeux Tapestry, created in the late 11th century, probably in England for a Norman patron, is one of the most important...
Latest Content
Article
Panic at Bull Run - Russell's Account of the Union Retreat
Panic at Bull Run is an excerpt from a longer article, The Battle of Bull Run, by the famous...
Article
The Integration of Church and State in the Roman Empire
In the ancient world, "religion" and society were not separate entities. Various gods dictated...
Definition
First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas) - The Wake-Up Call for Both Sides in the American Civil War
The First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas) on 21 July 1861...
Article
Battle of Rich Mountain - The Victory That Created an Army
The Battle of Rich Mountain (11 July 1861), fought in Randolph County, Virginia (now West Virginia...
Definition
Andrew Johnson - The First US President to be Impeached
Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) was the 17th President of the United States, who was suddenly thrust...
Definition
Evliya Çelebi - The Most Famous Ottoman Traveler
Evliya Çelebi (1611 -1682/85) is the most famous Ottoman Turkish traveler and explorer. He is well-known...
Free for the World, Supported by You
World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. Please support free history education for millions of learners worldwide for only $5 per month by becoming a member. Thank you!
World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. Please support free history education for millions of learners worldwide for only $5 per month by becoming a member. Thank you!
Become a Member DonateFor You
Article
Obsidian in Mesoamerica
Obsidian is a dark volcanic glass which provides the sharpest cutting edge available in nature. Ancient Mesoamerican cultures greatly esteemed the properties of obsidian, and it was...
Definition
Ögedei Khan
Ogedei Khan (aka Ogodei) ruled the Mongol Empire from 1229 to 1241. He was the third son of Genghis Khan (r. 1206-1227), the empire's founder. Ogedei's accomplishments included creating a new...
Definition
Masada
Masada (“fortress” in Hebrew) is a mountain complex in Israel in the Judean desert that overlooks the Dead Sea. It is famous for the last stand of the Zealots (and Sicarii) in the Jewish Revolt...
Definition
Delphi
Delphi was an important ancient Greek religious sanctuary sacred to the god Apollo. Located on Mt. Parnassus near the Gulf of Corinth, it was home to the famous oracle of Apollo which gave cryptic...
Book Reviews
Book Review
Athelstan
“It was the most terrible conflict that anyone could remember. Entire kingdoms were mobilised for combat. Slaughter fit to stupefy poets was visited on the ranks of the rival combatants" (3...
Book Review
Unrefined: How Capitalism Reinvented Sugar
Unrefined: How Capitalism Reinvented Sugar is a deeply researched book, exploring every avenue of the history of sugar. It is a book that historians, academics, and...
Book Review
Rome and Persia - The Seven Hundred Year Rivalry
Adrian Goldsworthy is one of the most steadily prolific classical antiquarians writing today. Having received his DPhil in ancient history from Oxford, Goldsworthy...
Statistics
| 2,960 | definitions |
| 1,733 | articles |
| 19,636 | illustrations |
| 2,617 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 15,326 | translations |
| 47 | languages |
| 1,325 | contributors |
| 15,239 | keywords |
| 50,517 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Collection
Love & Sex in the Ancient World
Love in antiquity, just as today, expressed itself in all kinds of relationships, meanings, connotations, and expectations. There were representations in art, literature, and...
Definition
Isthmia
Isthmia is a genitive noun with the meaning 'of the Isthmus.' It generally refers to the site that held the famous Isthmian Games near Corinth on the Isthmus. A natural assembly place for many...
Definition
Propylaea
Propylaea is the name given to monumental gates or entranceways to a specific space, usually to a temple or religious complex and as such they acted as a symbolic partition between the secular...
Article
The Satire of the Trades
The literature of ancient Egypt is as rich and varied as any other culture. From the inscriptions of the Old Kingdom of Egypt (c. 2613-2181 BCE) through the Love Poems of the New...
Article
The Curse of Agade - Naram-Sin's Fictional Battle with the Gods
The Curse of Agade (also given as The Cursing of Agade) is a poem dated to the Ur III period of Mesopotamia (circa 2112 to circa 2004 BCE), though it...
Article
The History of the Inquisition - The Catholic Church's Battle Against Deviance
The Inquisition was the official institution of the medieval Catholic Church that established ecclesiastical judges to investigate and judge...
Definition
Chandragupta II
Chandragupta II (c. 375 CE - 413/14 CE) was the next great Gupta emperor after his father Samudragupta (335/350 - 370/380 CE). He proved to be an able ruler and conqueror with many achievements...
Article
Women in the New Testament
Women in the New Testament are presented for the most part along the contours of both Jewish and Greco-Roman concepts of the social construction of gender roles. Women’s value to...
Medieval Period
Article
The Layout of a Medieval Abbey
Abbeys were a striking feature of medieval urban and rural landscapes. Their layout and architecture reflected their purpose as cut-off monastic retreats which, conversely, also...
Definition
Roger Mortimer - The Most Traitorous Earl of Edward II's Court
Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March (1287-1330) was an English nobleman who deposed King Edward II of England (reign 1307-1327) and then established himself...
Article
Hummingbirds in Aztec Culture - Warriors, Survivors, & the Namesakes of Gods & Kings
Hummingbirds, called huitzillin ("wee-TZEEL-een") in the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs, are one of the most recognizable and striking...
Article
A Visual Glossary of Hindu Architecture
Adisthana - the decorative raised platform on which a temple is built. Alasa kanya - a decorative female figure. Amalaka - a large fluted stone disc placed on top of...
Article
Early Explorers of the Maya Civilization: John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood
The names of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood are forever linked to the Maya and Mayan studies as the two great explorers...
Article
In Darwin's Footsteps - Te Waimate Mission
The Bay of Islands is a subtropical region in New Zealand's far north and is a popular destination for big-game fishing, sailing, and dolphin watching. It is an area...
Article
Vikings in Wales
The Norse may have ruled parts of northern Wales in the early 11th century, specifically in Anglesey and Gwynedd, though the degree to which is unclear. Old Norse had relatively little impact...
Definition
Robert Guiscard
Robert Guiscard (1015-1085) was a Norman knight best known for conquering much of Southern Italy and Sicily during the 11th century. His many exploits include the expulsion of the Byzantines...
Early Modern Period
Article
Who's Who in a Pirate Crew
It was all very well pocketing other people’s valuables and roistering at rum parties, but life on a pirate ship involved a surprising amount of hard work. Pirates were first and...
Definition
Twelfth Night - Shakespeare's Most Festive Play
Twelfth Night, or What You Will is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare (l. c. 1564-1616), written between 1600 and 1601 and first performed on 2 February 1602...
Article
The Trial & Martyrdom of Michael Sattler
Michael Sattler (l. 1490-1527) was a Roman Catholic monk who converted to the Anabaptist movement c. 1525 and contributed significantly to their Schleitheim Confession...
Article
The Gold of the Conquistadors
The staggering quantity of gold the conquistadors extracted from the Americas allowed Spain to become the richest country in the world. The thirst for gold to pay for armies and...
Article
The Prisoner of Olmütz - Lafayette's Imprisonment During the French Revolution
"Outlawed in my own land for having served her with courage," the Marquis de Lafayette wrote to his wife, Adrienne, "I have been forced to...
Article
The Grand Embassy of Peter the Great
The Grand Embassy was the name given to the long Western European tour that Tsar Peter I of Russia (aka Peter the Great, r. 1682-1725) undertook during 1697-1698. Peter was...
Definition
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault (1926-1984) was a post-modernist French philosopher and is considered one of the most influential philosophers of modern times. Aside from his critiques of social institutions...
Definition
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) was a Japanese military leader who reunified Japan at the beginning of the 17th century after a long period of civil war, known as the Warring States or Sengoku...
Modern Period
Definition
John Wesley Gilbert
Born into slavery in rural Georgia, John Wesley Gilbert (1863-1923) rose to national prominence as a scholar, teacher, community leader, and Christian missionary. During 1890-91, he was...
Article
Rationing in Wartime Britain
Rationing of food, clothing, petrol, and other essential items was introduced in Britain during the Second World War (1939-45) when the country's imports were severely threatened...
Definition
Sand Creek Massacre
The Sand Creek Massacre (29 November 1864) was a slaughter of citizens of the Arapaho and Cheyenne nations at the hands of the Third Colorado Cavalry of US Volunteers under the command...
Definition
Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) was an Austrian composer, most famous for his nine grand symphonies and his church music. Never quite gaining full recognition for his work until he was in his...
Image Gallery
5 British Royal Houses
In this gallery, we look at the history of the last five royal houses of Britain through their family trees. From the Wars of the Roses to the current House of Windsor, we see an evolution...
Image Gallery
Edgar Degas: A Gallery of 30 Paintings
In this gallery, we showcase 30 paintings by Edgar Degas (1834-1917) the French impressionist painter whose innovations contributed to a new definition of modern art. Here...
Article
Battle of Jutland - The Greatest Naval Battle of World War I
The Battle of Jutland (31 May to 1 June 1916) was by far the largest naval battle of the First World War (1914-18). The only time the bulk of the British...
Definition
Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner (1813-1883) was a German composer of Romantic music most famous for his epic operas like The Ring, Tannhäuser, and Tristan and Isolde. Wagner was concerned throughout his career...
Prehistoric Period
Definition
Ceide Fields
The Ceide Fields, near Ballycastle, Co. Mayo, on the western coast of Ireland, are recognised as one of the oldest and largest Stone Age farming sites in the world, dating back to c. 3700 BCE...
Definition
Homo Heidelbergensis
Homo heidelbergensis is an extinct species of human that is identified in both Africa and western Eurasia from roughly 700,000 years ago onwards until around 200,000 years ago – fitting...
Definition
Woolly Mammoth
The woolly mammoth, Mammuthus primigenius, is an extinct herbivore related to elephants who trudged across the steppe-tundras of Eurasia and North America from around 300,000 years ago until...
Article
The Stonehenge Burials
A great deal has been written about why the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, southern England, was constructed. Perhaps it was designed as a temple to the ancestors...
Definition
Altamira
Altamira is a Paleolithic cave located in Santillana del Mar (Cantabria region) in northern Spain, containing prehistoric paintings. The cave was inhabited for millennia and so, besides Paleolithic...
Definition
Oldowan Tools
The appearance of simple stone tools, widely known as Oldowan tools or the Oldowan industry, marked the beginning of our technological revolution. To our knowledge, these artifacts appeared...
Definition
Migration Age
The Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions or German: Völkerwanderung (wandering of the peoples), was a period of human migration that occurred roughly between 300 to 700 CE...
Definition
Venus Figurine
The term Venus figurine is used to describe the more than 200 small statuettes of voluptuous female figures that have been found at Upper Paleolithic sites across Europe and some parts of...
