Latest Content
Featured Definition

Definition
Paleolithic
The Palaeolithic ('Old Stone Age') makes up the earliest chunk of the Stone Age – the large swathe of time during which hominins used stone to...
Featured Image

Image
Bell Tower, Horyuji
The Bell Tower at the Buddhist Horyuji monastery, Nara, Japan. 710 CE.
Free for the World, Supported by You
World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide.
Become a Member Donate
Definition
Women's March on Versailles
The Women's March on Versailles, also known as the October March or the October Days, was a defining moment in the early months of the French Revolution...

Article
Margaret of Valois' Account of St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre
Margaret of Valois' eyewitness account of St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre is among the most famous and the only written record of the event left by a...

Article
A Brief History of the Dog Collar
The dog collar, so often taken for granted, has a long and illustrious history. Anyone fortunate enough to share their life with a dog in the present...

Definition
Redbad
Redbad, the king of Frisians (c. 680- c. 719) was known in early medieval history for his contribution to keeping the ardent nature of the Frisian culture...

Definition
Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro (c. 1478-1541) was a conquistador who led the Spanish conquest of the Inca civilization from 1532. With only a small group of men...

Definition
St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre
The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre was a widespread slaughter of French Protestants (Huguenots) by Catholics beginning on 24 August 1572 and lasting...

Definition
Brunhilda of Austrasia
Brunhilda of Austrasia (c. 543-613) was a Visigothic princess who married into the Merovingian dynasty of the Franks, becoming the queen consort of...

Article
The Siege of Cusco in 1536-7
The two sieges of Cusco in 1536-7 were the last great military actions by the Incas as they tried to reclaim their empire from the Spanish conquistadors...

Definition
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici (l. 1519-1589) was the queen of France, mother of three kings and two queens and, between 1559 and c. 1576, the most powerful woman...

Article
A Linguistical Analysis of Ancient Celtic Languages
The Celtic languages form a branch of the Indo-European (IE) language family. They derive from Proto-Celtic and are divided into Continental Celtic...

Article
Index of Prohibited Books
The Index of Prohibited Books (Index Librorum Prohibitorum) was a list of written works condemned as heretical or injurious to the Christian faith by...

Article
Mongol Multiculturalism
The Mongol Empire accepted and promoted many other cultures. Historians often talk about cultural exchange across Asia in the Mongol Empire as something...