Featured
Definition
Nefertiti
Nefertiti (c. 1370 - c. 1336 BCE) was the wife of the pharaoh Akhenaten of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt. Her name means, `the beautiful one has come' and, because of the world-famous bust created by the sculptor Thutmose (discovered in 1912 CE), she is the most recognizable queen of ancient Egypt. She grew up in the royal palace at Thebes, probably the daughter of the vizier to Amenhotep III, a...
Featured
Article
The 1918 Armistice with Germany - Allied Victory on WWI's Western Front
The armistice that ended the First World War (1914-18) on the Western Front was signed between Germany and the Allies on 11 November 1918. The...
Featured
Image
The Four Intact Pharaoh Burials of Ancient Egypt - Tutankhamun and the Royal Treasures of Tanis
Ancient Egyptian royal burials were designed to preserve the pharaoh's body, identity, and status for the afterlife. Coffins...
Featured
Image
12 Royal Princes Who Never Reached the Throne - From Germanicus to the Black Prince & Franz Ferdinand
Royal heirs and princes expected to succeed to a throne occupied an unusually precarious position: close enough to power...
Latest Content
Article
Stalin's Great Purge - State Oppression in the USSR
Joseph Stalin's Great Purge, also known as the Great Terror of 1936-8, was the most manic part of a decade of state oppression in the USSR. The purges saw the...
Definition
Peninsula Campaign - The Invasion Crippled by Fear
The Peninsula Campaign (17 March to 1 July 1862; operation completely ended by 26 August 1862) was the first large-scale Union offensive operation launched in...
Definition
Pax Mongolica - Trade and Cultural Exchange in the Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire was the largest land empire in world history, at about 22,000,000 square kilometers (850,000 square miles). The term Pax Mongolica...
Definition
James A. Garfield - The Unlikely Rise and Tragic Assassination of a President
James A. Garfield (1831-1881) was an American politician from Ohio who served as the 20th president of the United States from 4 March 1881...
Article
A History of Modern Time - From Railroad Time to Atomic Clocks
The rapidly expanding 19th-century rail network not only 'annihilated space,' in the parlance of the day, but also altered the definition, use, and perception...
Article
Battle of Chickamauga - The Second Bloodiest Battle of the American Civil War
The Battle of Chickamauga (19-20 September 1863) was a decisive battle in the western theater of the American Civil War (1861-1865). Fought...
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Map of the Western Front in World War I, 1914–1918 - Trench Warfare, Major Battles, and the Allied Victory
The Western Front (1914–1918) was the principal battlefield of the First World War in Western Europe, emerging from...
Image
Map of the Fertile Crescent and the Origins of Agriculture - Early Farming and Domestication in the Ancient Near East
The Fertile Crescent, a term coined in 1916 by Egyptologist James Henry Breasted, describes an arc of Southwest...
Image
Map of the Roman Empire under Septimius Severus, 193-211 CE - Civil War, Roman Expansion, and the Rise of the Severans
The reign of Septimius Severus (193–211 CE) marked a turning point in Roman imperial history. Rising to power...
For You
Definition
Cuneiform - The Writing System That Made History
Cuneiform is a system of writing first developed by the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia circa 3600/3500 BCE. It is considered the most significant among the many...
Article
Selja Monastery - The Sacred Island off the West Coast of Norway
Selja monastery has been considered one of the most sacred sites in Norway for more than 1000 years. The monastery is connected to the legend of St...
Definition
Pilgrimage of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace is the collective name for a series of rebellions in northern England, first in Lincolnshire and then in Yorkshire and elsewhere between October and December 1536...
Definition
Ogham
One of the stranger ancient scripts one might come across, Ogham is also known as the 'Celtic Tree Alphabet'. Estimated to have been used from the fourth to the tenth century CE, it is believed...
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 American West: A New Interpretive History (Second Edition)
When the first edition of The American West: A New Interpretive History, penned by Professor Robert V. Hine (1921 - 2015) and Professor John Mack Faragher...
Book Review
China in World History (New Oxford World History series)
This is a volume in the New Oxford World History series. According to the Editor’s Preface, the aim of this series is to "offer readers an informed, up-to-date...
Statistics
| 2,996 | definitions |
| 1,774 | articles |
| 19,902 | illustrations |
| 2,647 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 16,523 | translations |
| 48 | languages |
| 1,349 | contributors |
| 15,685 | keywords |
| 64,053 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Collection
Historical Fiction of Mesopotamia
Historical fiction is frequently dated to works including the Iliad of Homer (8th century BCE) or The Tale of Genji (11th century CE) or, in English, to the 19th century, usually...
Collection
Comedy & Tragedy: the Drama of Greek Theatre
Greek theatre likely sprang from the lyrical performance of ancient epic poetry and the rituals performed in the worship of the god Dionysos where goats were sacrificed...
Definition
Cahuachi
Cahuachi, located on the southern coast of Peru, was the most important sacred site of the Nazca civilization. The Nazca flourished between 200 BCE and 600 CE, and Cahuachi covers a similar time...
Article
The Delian League, Part 5: The Peace of Nicias, Quadruple Alliance, and Sicilian Expedition (421/0-413/2 BCE)
This text is part of an article series on the Delian League. The fifth phase of the Delian League begins with...
Definition
Akhenaten
Akhenaten (r. 1353-1336 BCE) was a pharaoh of 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt. He is also known as 'Akhenaton' or 'Ikhnaton' and also 'Khuenaten', all of which are translated to mean...
Article
Carthaginian Trade
The Carthaginians, like their Phoenician forefathers, were highly successful traders who sailed the Mediterranean with their goods, and such was their success that Carthage became the...
Definition
Horae
The Horae (Horai, sing. Hora) were the personification and goddesses of the seasons and the hours and, later on, were regarded as goddesses of order and justice in Greek mythology. They were the...
Definition
Ancient India
India is a country in South Asia whose name comes from the Indus River. The name 'Bharata' is used as a designation for the country in their constitution referencing the ancient mythological...
Medieval Period
Definition
Edward I of England
Edward I of England reigned as king from 1272 to 1307 CE. Edward succeeded his father Henry III of England (r. 1216-1272 CE) and was known as 'Longshanks' for his impressive height and...
Definition
Bayeux Tapestry
The Bayeux Tapestry shows in pictures the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England by William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, and his 1066 defeat of King Harold Godwinson at...
Article
Early Explorers of the Maya Civilization: From Aguilar to Waldek
Although John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood are consistently credited with the `discovery' of the Maya Civilization, there were many who...
Article
Vikings TV Series - Historical Accuracy
Vikings (2013-present) is a historical fiction TV series created and written by English screenwriter Michael Hirst for the History Channel. Filmed in Ireland, the show...
Definition
Aethelred I of Wessex - The Forgotten Victor of the Battle of Ashdown
Aethelred I ruled the Kingdom of Wessex (southern England) from 865 to 871 and led the English resistance to the Viking invasions of Britain. He...
Article
Eyes on the East: Chronicles of the Indian Ocean Spice Trade
As the 15th century ended, Europeans were still mostly in the dark about the Eastern world. Early travelers like Marco Polo had given the West tidbits...
Collection
The Plantagenets
The Plantagenets, sometimes referred to as the Angevin-Plantagenets, were the ruling dynasty of England from 1154 to 1485 CE. The name Angevin derives from the family's ancestral lands in...
Article
Early Muslim Conquests (622-656 CE)
Islam arose as a religious and socio-political force in Arabia in the 7th century CE (610 CE onwards). The Islamic Prophet Muhammad (l. 570-632 CE), despite facing resistance...
Early Modern Period
Collection
12 Great Composers
In this collection, we consider 12 of the great composers, from Bach to Rachmaninoff. Covering Baroque, Classical, and Romantic music, many of the works remain instantly recognisable even...
Article
Fall of the Girondins
The fall of the Girondins, which occurred during the Paris insurrections of 31 May-2 June 1793, marked the end of a bitter power struggle between the Girondins and the Mountain during...
Article
Roger Williams' The Bloody Tenent of Persecution
The Bloody Tenent of Persecution (original title, The Bloody Tenenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience) is a 1644 CE book by the Puritan separatist Roger...
Article
Dogs & Their Collars in the Age of Enlightenment - From "Machines" to Pampered Pets
In medieval and Renaissance Europe, dogs were considered little more than "machines" which performed certain tasks, such as guarding...
Article
The Three Estates of Pre-Revolutionary France
Society in the Kingdom of France in the period of the Ancien Regime was broken up into three separate estates, or social classes: the clergy, the nobility, and the...
Definition
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion (1562-1598) were a series of eight conflicts between Protestant and Catholic factions in France lasting 36 years and concluding with the Protestant King...
Collection
Great African Kingdoms
This collection presents a small sampling of the many great African kingdoms that rose and fell from the ancient period when Punt traded with Egypt up through the common era. Each kingdom...
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...
Modern Period
Article
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
On the evening of 14 April 1865, US President Abraham Lincoln was shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes Booth, while attending a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington...
Definition
Sherman's March to the Sea - The Destruction of Georgia
Sherman's March to the Sea (15 November to 21 December 1864) was a significant military campaign in the American Civil War (1861-1865). Hoping to cripple the...
Definition
Great Exhibition
The 1851 Great Exhibition was held in the purpose-built Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, to showcase the latest developments in engineering, science, and the arts, as well as objects...
Definition
William IV of Great Britain
William IV of Great Britain (r. 1830-1837) succeeded his elder brother George IV of Great Britain (r. 1820-1830) to become the fifth Hanoverian monarch. William had a successful...
Definition
SS Great Eastern
The SS Great Eastern was a steam-powered ship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859) which sailed on its maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York in June 1860. At the time, it was...
Article
Battle of Bentonville - The Fight for North Carolina at the end of the US Civil War
The Battle of Bentonville (19-21 March 1865) was among the last major battles of the American Civil War (1861-1865). Having cut swathes...
Definition
Thomas Jefferson - The Flawed Idealist of the American Enlightenment
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was an American lawyer, statesman, philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. A prominent figure of the...
Definition
Battle of Philippi (Philippi Races) - The First Organized Land Battle of the American Civil War
The Battle of Philippi (3 June 1861) was the first organized land engagement of the American Civil War, fought in Philippi...
Prehistoric Period
Definition
Locmariaquer
Locmariaquer is a Stone Age site in north-west France distinguished by its two large stone tombs and massive granite standing stone or menhir. The monumental structures, all built within metres...
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...
Definition
First Agricultural Revolution
The First Agricultural Revolution, beginning c. 12-20,000 years ago, was characterized by the emergence of different agricultural systems in different parts of the world, whose...
Definition
Neanderthal
Neanderthals are an extinct group of fossil humans that appeared in Western Eurasia in the mid-Middle Pleistocene and shared the stage with the first modern humans arriving in Europe from around...
Definition
Europe
Europe is a continent forming the westernmost part of the land mass of Eurasia and comprised of 49 sovereign states. Its name may come from the Greek myth of Europa, but human habitation of the...
Definition
Long Barrow
A long barrow is a class of Middle Neolithic (approximately 3500-2700 BCE) burial monument which is found extensively throughout the British Isles and is related to other forms of contemporary...
Definition
The Sweet Track
The Sweet Track is a Neolithic timber walkway, located in the Somerset Levels, England. It was originally part of a network of tracks built to provide a dry path across the marshy ground...
Article
Rock Drawings of Valcamonica
The rock drawings of Valcamonica are prehistoric petroglyphs carved in the glacier-polished, grey-purple Permian sandstone of the Camonica valley that extends for 90 km in the...
