Featured
Article
Ten Halloween Facts and Traditions You Need to Know - A Celebration of Transformation
Halloween is the most popular holiday in the world, after Christmas (based on level-of-celebration and consumer spending) and, increasingly...
Featured
Definition
Ghosts in the Ancient World - The Return of the So-Called Dead
A belief in an afterlife was central to every major civilization of the ancient world and this encouraged the recognition of the reality of ghosts as...
Featured
Image
12 Largest Contiguous Land Empires Before 1880 - From the Mongol Empire to Rome, Qing China & Russia
Land empires were expansive states whose rulers exercised authority over large, substantially connected territories and...
Featured
Image
Map of the Rise of the Delhi Sultanate: Mamluk Dynasty - State Formation and Conquest in Medieval India, 1206–1290
The Delhi Sultanate's Mamluk (or Slave) period (1206–1290) marked the emergence of a powerful Muslim-ruled state...
Latest Content
Article
Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld - Messages From the Afterlife
Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld is a Sumerian poem pre-dating The Epic of Gilgamesh and featuring its central characters. It is sometimes...
Definition
Army of Northern Virginia - General Lee's Army
The Army of Northern Virginia was the main field army of the Confederate States in the eastern theater of the American Civil War (1861-1865). Famously led by General...
Definition
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor - The Great Matchmaker
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1459-1519), belonged to the imperial House of Habsburg, and the imperial electors made him King of the Romans in 1486 during...
Definition
James Longstreet - Civil War Hero and Lost Cause Villain
James Longstreet (1821-1904) was a Confederate general in the American Civil War, serving chiefly under Robert E. Lee in the Eastern theater. He was regarded...
Collection
First 16 US Presidents - From Washington to Lincoln
Since the founding of the United States, the office of the presidency – and the men who have occupied it – have had a profound impact on the hearts, minds, and...
Definition
Seven Years' War - The 18th-Century World War
The Seven Years' War (1756-1763) was a global conflict fought between the great powers of Europe in the mid-18th century. The culmination of several decades of conflict...
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!
Become a MemberHistory should be free for everyone!
If you find World History Encyclopedia helpful, a $10 contribution helps keep trusted history free and accessible to millions of readers and students worldwide. Thanks for making a difference!
Donate $10Maps
Image
Map of the Latin Empire - A Crusader State in Constantinople - The Fourth Crusade and the Fragmentation of Byzantium
The Latin Empire (Imperium Romaniae, 1204–1261) emerged after the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) captured and...
Image
12 Largest Contiguous Land Empires Before 1880 - From the Mongol Empire to Rome, Qing China & Russia
Land empires were expansive states whose rulers exercised authority over large, substantially connected territories and...
Image
Map of the Sasanian Empire at Its Height, c. 620 - Khosrow II and the Byzantine–Sasanian War, 602–628
The Sasanian Empire (224–651), also known as Sassanian Persia, was the last pre-Islamic Persian empire and one of the...
For You
Article
Top 10 Archaeological Sites in Provence
Provence has inherited a rich legacy from antiquity, boasting some of the best-preserved Roman ruins in Europe. In the 2nd century BCE, the Romans began their conquest...
Definition
Indigo Revolt
The Indigo Revolt (aka Indigo Riots or Blue Mutiny) of 1859-60 in Bengal, India, involved indigo growers going on strike in protest at working conditions and pay. The subsequent violence was...
Definition
Hippolyta
Hippolyta, or Hippolyte, was a queen of the Amazons in Greek mythology. A daughter of Ares, the Greek god of war, and Otrera, queen of the Amazons, she is a significant figure in the legends...
Article
Women in Ancient Egypt
Women in ancient Egypt were regarded as the equals of men in every aspect save that of occupation. The man was the head of the household and nation, but women ran the home and contributed...
Book Reviews
Book Review
The Army of Alexander the Great
The Army of Alexander the Great (2025) is a highly detailed and insightful examination of one of the most influential military forces in history. Rather than presenting Alexander...
Book Review
Masterpieces of the Cinquantenaire Museum
Founded in 1835, the Cinquantenaire Museum (French: Musée du Cinquantenaire; Dutch: Jubelparkmuseum) is the largest and most prestigious museum in Belgium. Aptly called...
Book Review
Egyptian Mythology: A Traveler's Guide from Aswan to Alexandria
Egyptian Mythology: A Travelers Guide from Aswan to Alexandria by Egyptologist Garry J. Shaw takes you on a journey up the Nile as if on a tour of Egypt's...
Statistics
| 2,993 | definitions |
| 1,764 | articles |
| 19,866 | illustrations |
| 2,643 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 16,383 | translations |
| 48 | languages |
| 1,342 | contributors |
| 15,631 | keywords |
| 62,015 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Definition
Meleager
Meleager (Greek: Meleagros) is a hero from Greek mythology who famously led an expedition to kill the Calydonian boar which was terrorizing the kingdom of Oeneus in Aetolia in central-western...
Definition
Ancient Timekeeping
The passage of time has always been a preoccupation of human beings, whether it be a question of satisfying basic needs such as when to eat and sleep, the importance of seasons for migratory...
Definition
Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai (Hebrew: Har Sinay, Arabic: Jabal Musa, "mountain of Moses") is a holy site for the three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. It has traditionally been located...
Definition
Phoenician Architecture
Phoenician architecture is typified by large temples with double-columned facades approached by a short staircase, enclosed sacred spaces containing cube-like and open-fronted shrines...
Definition
Yaxchilan
Yaxchilan, located on the banks of the Usumacinta River in the Yucatán peninsula of Mexico, was an important Late Classic Maya centre. The Maya dated the founding of their city to 320 CE, but...
Article
Gobekli Tepe - the World's First Temple?
Located in modern Turkey, Göbekli Tepe is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. The discovery of this stunning 10,000 year old site in the 1990s...
Article
The Banquet Stele of Ashurnasirpal II
When he came to the throne in 884 BCE, Ashurnasirpal II had to attend to revolts which broke out across the empire. He ruthlessly put down all rebellions, destroyed the...
Article
Old Testament Pseudepigrapha
The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha are the non-canonical writings of Judaism and Christianity, ranging from the 5th century BCE to the 9th century CE. Pseudepigrapha comes from a...
Medieval Period
Definition
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle, towering atop Castle Rock, has served Scotland for centuries, at one time or another acting as a fortress, royal residence, seat of government, armoury, and prison. The...
Article
The Ideal of Christendom in the Middle Ages & Beyond
The ideal of Christendom in antiquity joined separate nations into one single community carrying out the precepts of the God of Israel. Constantine's conversion...
Article
Boethius: First of the Medievals?
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (c. 477-524/525) was a scholar in Late Antiquity who was imprisoned and executed by Theodoric (r. 493-526 CE) but was later idolised by medieval...
Article
Battles & Conquests Of The Ottoman Empire (1299-1683)
Spanning across three continents and holding dominance over the Black and Mediterranean Seas, the Ottoman Sultanate (1299-1922) was a global military superpower...
Definition
Ridda Wars
The Ridda Wars or the Wars of Apostasy (632-633 CE) were a series of military engagements between the armies of the Rashidun Caliphate (632-661 CE) and the renegade tribes of Arabia. The rebels...
Definition
Anjar
The city of Anjar stands as the single Umayyad site in Lebanon, located near the Litani River and 58 km from the capital of Beirut. Anjar was founded during the Umayyad period under Caliph Walid...
Definition
Piers Gaveston - The Rise and Fall of Edward II's Controversial Companion
Piers Gaveston (lived circa 1284-1312) was a Gascon-born English nobleman, famous as the favorite of King Edward II of England (reign 1307-1327...
Definition
The Constantinian Excerpts - The 10th Century Byzantine Encyclopedia
The Constantinian Excerpts, or Excerpta Constantiniana is the conventional name given to the mid-10th Century Byzantine palace encyclopedia commissioned...
Early Modern Period
Article
African Slave Life in Colonial British America
African slave life in Colonial British America was far worse than slavery practiced in the Americas prior to the arrival of Europeans. The indigenous tribes took...
Article
Saratoga Campaign
The Saratoga Campaign (20 June to 17 October 1777) was one of the most important military campaigns of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), in which a British army under General...
Definition
Louis I de Bourbon, Prince of Condé
Louis I de Bourbon (l. 1530-1569) was a descendant of Louis IX of France (r. 1226-1270) and founder of the House of Condé. The Prince of Condé proved his valor as a Huguenot...
Definition
Charles II of England
Charles II of England (r. 1660-1685) was the king of Scotland (1649-1685) before the Restoration in 1660 also made him king of England and Ireland. Charles was a charming and easygoing...
Definition
John Winthrop
John Winthrop (l. c. 1588-1649 CE) was an English lawyer best known as the Puritan leader of the first large wave of the Great Migration of Puritans from England to North America in 1630 CE...
Definition
War of Jenkins' Ear - How One Man's Ear Started a Colonial War Between Empires
The War of Jenkins' Ear (1739-1748) was a colonial conflict fought between Great Britain and Spain, primarily in the Caribbean and off the...
Article
Napoleon Bonaparte During the Early French Revolution (1789-1794)
Of all the careers that soared to meteoric heights during the chaotic decade of the French Revolution (1789-1799), none was more spectacular nor impactful...
Article
The Wreck of the HMS Gloucester
The HMS Gloucester was wrecked in the North Sea, about 30 miles off the shore of Norfolk, England, shortly after dawn on 6 May 1682. It was a warship in the navy of Charles II...
Modern Period
Article
Japanese Castles
Fortifications of one kind or another had been used in Japan since ancient times, but in the period from 1576 until 1639, a new and distinctive style of castle was constructed. Rather than...
Article
Sandbar Fight - The Duel That Made Jim Bowie Famous
The Sandbar Fight of 19 September 1827 made James 'Jim' Bowie famous, as well as the Bowie knife – less than 10 years before the Alamo (where he fell alongside...
Article
The Wyndclyffe Estate
There are many fascinating and forlorn ruins throughout New York’s Hudson Valley, and, among them, the tottering remains of what was once considered the grandest home in the area and...
Definition
Gioachino Rossini
Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) was an Italian composer of around 40 operas, including the comic operas The Italian Girl in Algiers and The Barber of Seville. Rossini championed melody and...
Definition
Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 was a medium two-engined bomber plane used by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) during the Second World War (1939-45). Heinkel He 111s contributed significantly to such...
Article
First Days in the Union Army - Recruitment and Training in the Civil War
Recruitment and training practices during the American Civil War varied according to the year, the commanding officer, and between the opposing...
Article
The Man Who Wrestled with a Ghost
The Man Who Wrestled with a Ghost (also given as The Indian Who Wrestled with a Ghost) is a Teton Sioux tale on how one should interact with the spirits of the dead in circumstances...
Collection
Death and the Afterlife in the Ancient World
Belief in an afterlife was common in the ancient world, as it is today, and each culture created its own unique vision of the land that existed beyond the grave. Even...
Prehistoric Period
Definition
Stone Age
From the dawn of our species to the present day, stone-made artefacts are the dominant form of material remains that have survived to today concerning human technology. The term “Stone Age”...
Definition
Denisovan
The Denisovans are an extinct group of fossil humans who, along with their sister group the Neanderthals, also share an ancestor with Homo sapiens. Thus far, they are known only from Denisova...
Image Gallery
Prehistoric Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly are a small island group west of Cornwall. Despite their small size, they abound in prehistoric sites dating from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age, including...
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 make tools – and ranges from the first known tool...
Definition
Homo Sapiens
Homo sapiens ('wise man'), or modern humans, are the only species of human still around today. Despite having invented countless ways of labelling the world around us, we have so far done a...
Article
The Meaning of European Upper Paleolithic Rock Art
Rock art (also known as parietal art) is an umbrella term which refers to several types of creations including finger markings left on soft surfaces, bas-relief...
Definition
Dolmen
A dolmen is a megalithic structure typically formed from a large horizontal stone slab resting on two or more upright slabs. The oldest European examples are found in Brittany, northern France...
Definition
Homo Rudolfensis
Homo rudolfensis is an early human species that lived in East Africa between c. 2.5 and 1.8 million years ago. It is known from a handful of skull, jaw and teeth fragments that remind alternatingly...
