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Featured
Article
Dogs in the Ancient World
Dogs have been a part of the history of human beings since before the written word. The ancient temple of Gobekli-Tepe in Turkey, dated to at least 12,000 years BCE, has provided archaeologists with evidence of domesticated dogs in the Middle East corresponding to the earliest evidence of domestication...
Featured
Definition
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806) was a US military expedition of exploration, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, whose goal was to explore the newly acquired western...
Featured
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Map of the Allied Pacific Counteroffensive, 1942–1945 - WWII's Pacific War
From mid-1942, the Allied war against Japan shifted from containing expansion to sustained counteroffensive. The Battle of the Coral Sea (May...
Featured
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12 Ancient Scripts We Still Cannot Read - Undeciphered Scripts & Lost Languages of the Ancient World
Throughout history, writing enabled societies to record administration, trade, law, religion, and historical events. From...
Latest Content
Article
Jefferson Davis' Message to Congress - States' Rights and Defense of Slavery
There were many events leading up to the American Civil War, with tensions becoming increasingly heightened between the Fugitive Slave Act...
Definition
Gilbert and Marshall Islands Campaign - The US Island-Hopping Advance in the Pacific
The Gilbert and Marshall Islands Campaign (November 1943 to February 1944), a key strategic step forward in WWII's Pacific War, saw...
Article
Georgia's Declaration of Secession - Why Georgia Left the Union
On 19 January 1861, at a state convention held in Milledgeville, Georgia voted to secede from the United States of America, becoming the fifth state...
Definition
Bronze Age Collapse - The Decline and Fall of Mediterranean Civilization
The Bronze Age Collapse (also known as Late Bronze Age Collapse) is a modern-day term referring to the decline and fall of major Mediterranean...
Definition
Guadalcanal Campaign - WWII's Brutal Fight to Control the Solomons
The Guadalcanal Campaign (aka Battle for Guadalcanal) in the Solomon Islands was a series of land, air, and sea battles between US and Japanese forces...
Definition
Macedon - Birthplace of Alexander the Great
Macedon was an ancient kingdom located in the north of the Greek peninsula first inhabited by the Mackednoi tribe whose identity was challenged by some southern Greeks...
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Map of the Allied Pacific Counteroffensive, 1942–1945 - WWII's Pacific War
From mid-1942, the Allied war against Japan shifted from containing expansion to sustained counteroffensive. The Battle of the Coral Sea (May...
Image
The Royal House of Windsor in Britain - Rebranding the Crown - From Saxe-Coburg to Windsor
The House of Windsor represents the modern phase in the long dynastic evolution of the British monarchy, reflecting how royal identity...
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12 Ancient Scripts We Still Cannot Read - Undeciphered Scripts & Lost Languages of the Ancient World
Throughout history, writing enabled societies to record administration, trade, law, religion, and historical events. From...
For You
Definition
Pliny the Elder
Aside from the usual contributions of its noble politicians and military commanders, the story of a nation also records the invaluable literary influences of its poets, dramatists, and historians...
Definition
Telesilla of Argos
Telesilla of Argos was a lyric poet of the 5th century BCE, listed by Antipater of Thesalonike (c. 15 BCE) as one of the great Nine Female Lyric Poets of Greece (along with Praxilla, Moiro...
Article
Excerpts from What is the Third Estate
What is the Third Estate? was a pamphlet published by Abbè Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès (1748-1836) in January 1789, months before the start of the French Revolution (1789-1799...
Definition
Schmalkaldic War
The Schmalkaldic War (1546-1547) was fought between the Protestant Schmalkaldic League and the Catholic armies under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who, having failed to achieve religious...
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
The Incas (Peoples of America)
Terence D'Altroy is impressively described on the back cover of this book as 'Professor in Anthropology at Columbia University, Director of the Columbia Centre for Archaeology...
Book Review
Embodied Histories: New Womanhood in Vienna, 1894–1934
When first picking up this book, the reader might not expect to stumble upon police reports regarding wrongful arrests of Viennese women at the turn of the...
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| 1,740 | articles |
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| 52,162 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Definition
Fujiwara Clan
The Fujiwara clan (Fujiwara-shi) was a powerful extended family group which dominated all areas of Japanese government during the Heian Period (794-1185). Founded by Fujiwara no Kamatari in...
Article
Jade in Mesoamerica
Jade was a highly-esteemed material in many Mesoamerican cultures, making it a valued regional trade good and first choice for objects of religious and artistic value such as masks, ceremonial...
Definition
Lamia
Lamia is a female or a hermaphroditic demon found in Greek mythology who devoured children and seduced men. She appears in literature as early as the 6th century BCE and is said to be fearsome to...
Definition
Eris
Eris is the Greek goddess and personification of discord and strife. She is an unpopular figure in Greek mythology due to her problematic behaviour and her ability to stir up trouble wherever she...
Definition
Narmer
Narmer (c. 3150 BCE) was the first king of Egypt who unified the country peacefully at the beginning of the First Dynastic Period (c. 3150 - 2613 BCE). He has also, however, been cited as the last...
Definition
Leonidas I of Sparta
Leonidas was the Spartan king who famously led a small band of Greek allies at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE where the Greeks valiantly defended the pass through which the Persian...
Definition
Oppidum - The Hilltop Fort of the Celts
Celtic hilltop forts, often called oppida (sing. oppidum), after the Latin name given to larger settlements by the Romans, were built across Europe during the 2nd and 1st...
Definition
Kikimora
Kikimora (pronounced Kih-kee-mora) is a female house spirit from Slavic lore who can be helpful or malevolent depending on the behavior of the homeowner. In differing versions of her stories...
Medieval Period
Article
Viking Age Greenland
Greenland was drawn into the Viking Age and settled by Norse Vikings in the late 980s CE, their presence there lasting into the 15th century CE. Despite its ice-riddled geography, the...
Article
Battle of Ad Decimum
The Battle of Ad Decimum near Carthage, North Africa took place in September 533 CE and was the first major battle of the Vandalic War (533 - 534 CE) between the forces of the Byzantine...
Definition
Merlin
Merlin (also known as Myrddin, Merlinus) is the great wizard of the Arthurian Legends best known from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur (1469 CE). The character was created by Geoffrey of Monmouth...
Article
Mandu - City of Joy
The city of Mandu is situated about 35 km from Dhar in the Madhya Pradesh region of northern-central India. Most of the city's monuments date to the 15th and 16th century CE. The city...
Definition
Alchemy
Alchemy is an ancient practice aimed at recreating precious substances using recipes and transformative materials such as the philosopher's stone. Alchemists believed that materials like gold...
Article
Inca Food & Agriculture
The Inca empire controlled four climate zones and, consequently, their agricultural produce was diverse. Ancient Andean people were largely vegetarian, supplementing their diet with...
Article
Society in the Byzantine Empire
The society in the Byzantine Empire (4th-15th century CE) was dominated by the imperial family and the male aristocracy but there were opportunities for social advancement thanks...
Definition
Melusine
Melusine (pronounced Mel-ew-seen, also given as Melusina) is a legendary figure from European folklore depicted as a mermaid, sometimes with two tails, as a serpent from the waist down, or as...
Early Modern Period
Article
HMS Victory - Nelson's Flagship & Oldest Ship of the Royal Navy
Smasher of Napoleon's invasion dream, veteran of three major wars, and scene of the death of the Royal Navy's greatest hero, HMS Victory is one of Britain's...
Article
Battle of Waxhaws
The Battle of Waxhaws (29 May 1780) was a small engagement during the southern theater of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) that nevertheless had a significant psychological impact...
Definition
Anne Hutchinson - Spiritual Visionary and Champion of Faith
Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643) was a religious reformer, Puritan dissident, midwife, and alleged prophetess whose beliefs and influence brought her into conflict...
Definition
Plains Indians
The Plains Indians (also known as Native Americans of the Plains and Prairie, Indigenous Peoples of the Great Plains) are the original inhabitants of the western plains of North America...
Definition
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was an English philosopher who famously summarised his pessimistic view of human nature in his greatest work, Leviathan, published in 1651. Hobbes believed that the...
Article
Jeanne de Jussie's Short Chronicle
Jeanne de Jussie's Short Chronicle (1535) is an eyewitness account by the nun Jeanne de Jussie (l. 1503-1561) relating how the Protestant Reformation in Geneva, Switzerland...
Article
The Origin of Medicine
The Origin of Medicine is a Cherokee story on the theme of balance and respect told from the point of view of the animals and plant life. When the animal world turns against humanity...
Definition
Flour War
The Flour War refers to the series of approximately 300 riots that swept through France from April to May 1775, because of rising bread prices. The revolts only subsided after soldiers had been...
Modern Period
Article
Interview: Her Lotus Year. Wallis Simpson in China
Wallis Simpson (1896-1986) is often remembered as the wife of King Edward VIII, the Duke of Windsor. British monarch for less than a year in 1936, Edward preferred...
Article
Cousteau's Calypso - The World's Most Famous Research Ship
Slicing through tropical reefs or patrolling Arctic waters, the Calypso gained worldwide fame as the research ship of the French underwater explorer Jacques-Yves...
Article
Why Kokopelli is Not Kokopelli: Paiyatamu & The Four Flutes
The iconic image of Kokopelli, the flute-playing kachina spirit of the Pueblo peoples, specifically the Hopi, is easily the most recognizable figure from...
Definition
Mahdist War - Holy War in Sudan, 1881-99
The Mahdist War (1881-99) in Sudan was led by the inspirational Muhammad Ahmad, an Islamic holy man who declared himself the Mahdi (the Messiah). The Mahdists wanted...
Definition
Omaha Beach - D-Day's Deadliest Beach
Omaha Beach was one of two beaches attacked by the US armed forces on D-Day, 6 June 1944. Strong German defences on the bluff overlooking the beach made this area the most...
Definition
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung (SA or Storm Detachment), popularly known as the Brownshirts for their uniform, was the paramilitary arm of the German Nazi party led by Adolf Hitler (1889-1945). The SA...
Article
The Attack on Pearl Harbor - Why the US Entered WWII
A Japanese carrier force attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, O'ahu, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941 and so brought the United States into the Second World...
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...
Prehistoric Period
Definition
Ice Age
An ice age is a period in which the earth's climate is colder than normal, with ice sheets capping the poles and glaciers dominating higher altitudes. Within an ice age, there are varying pulses...
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
Pre-Colonial North America
Pre-Colonial North America (also known as Pre-Columbian, Prehistoric, and Precontact) is the period between the migration of the Paleo-Indians to the region between 40,000-14,000...
Definition
Maeshowe - The Ancient Meadow Mound of Orkney
Maeshowe (pronounced `maze-ow' or `maze-oo') is a large Neolithic chambered cairn, dating from between 3000-2800 BCE, in the Stenness parish of Orkney, Scotland. According...
Article
Dolmens of Ancient Korea
Dolmens (in Korean: koindol or chisongmyo) are simple structures made of monolithic stones erected during the late Neolithic period or Korean Bronze Age (1st millennium BCE). In ancient...
Definition
Homo Naledi
Homo naledi is an extinct species of human discovered in Rising Star Cave in South Africa in 2013 CE in what has become the biggest single-species hominin find in Africa to this day, which is...
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...
Definition
Banpo Village
Banpo Village is a Neolithic site in the Yellow River Valley, east of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, in the People's Republic of China. The site was occupied from c. 4500-3750 BCE and covers almost...
