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
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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
Coyolxauhqui
Coyolxauhqui (pron. Koy-ol-shauw-kee) was the Aztec goddess of the Moon or Milky Way who was famously butchered by her brother Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, in Aztec mythology. This story...
Definition
Publius Quinctilius Varus
Publius Quinctilius Varus (c. 46 BCE – 9 CE) was a Roman politician and general under the rule of Emperor Augustus. He is most remembered for having lost three Roman legions when...
Article
Argula von Grumbach's To the University of Ingolstadt
To the University of Ingolstadt (1523) is an open letter by the German reformer Argula von Grumbach (l. 1490 to c. 1564) protesting the dismissal, arrest, and...
Definition
Babylon - The Gate of the Gods
Babylon is the most famous city from ancient Mesopotamia, whose ruins lie in modern-day Hillah, Iraq, 59 miles (94 km) southwest of Baghdad. The name is derived from bav-il or...
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 Great Wall of China: From History to Myth
The Great Wall of China: From History to Myth by Arthur Waldron covers the history of the Great Wall and the myths which have developed around it. Many people still...
Book Review
Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire
As the title suggests, Caroline Elkins's book tells the history of what historians call the “second British Empire” - the imperial developments that took shape...
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| 1,774 | articles |
| 19,902 | illustrations |
| 2,647 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
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| 1,349 | contributors |
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Ancient Period
Definition
Aeschylus
Aeschylus (c. 525 - c. 456 BCE) was one of the great writers of Greek Tragedy in 5th century BCE Classical Athens. Known as 'the father of tragedy', the playwright wrote up to 90 plays, winning...
Image Gallery
21 Images of Greek and Roman Charioteers
This gallery features images of Greek and Roman chariot racers. Chariot racing was the most popular spectator sport in ancient times. In Greece, chariot racing was important...
Definition
Iliad
Homer's Iliad describes the final year of the Trojan War, a legendary conflict between an alliance of Greek cities and the city of Troy in Anatolia. It was probably written in the 8th century BCE...
Definition
Enryakuji
The Enryakuji is a Buddhist monastic complex on the sacred Mt. Hiei, near Kyoto, Japan. The site was selected by the monk Saicho to become the headquarters of the Tendai sect, which he founded...
Definition
The Bar-Kochba Revolt
The Bar Kochba Revolt (132–136 CE) was the third and final war between the Jewish people and the Roman Empire. It followed a long period of tension and violence, marked by the first...
Article
Etruscan Clothing
The clothing of the ancient Etruscans, a civilization which flourished in central Italy between the 8th and 3rd century BCE, can be seen in many media of their art including wall paintings...
Article
How to Read a Maya Glyph
For over three centuries, the ancient Maya flourished in Mesoamerica. They built giant stone pyramids surrounded by dense jungle, used a calendrical system that made many believe...
Definition
Furies
The Furies (or Erinyes, sing. Erinys) were creatures from Greek mythology who exacted divine retribution from those guilty of wrong-doing. Crimes which were especially likely to incur their wrath...
Medieval Period
Interview
The World of Parsi Cooking: Interview with Niloufer Mavalvala
In this exclusive interview, Niloufer Mavalvala, author of The Art of Parsi Cooking: Reviving an Ancient Cuisine, speaks to James Blake Wiener of Ancient...
Definition
Harsha
Emperor Harshavardhana, better known as Harsha, lived from 590 to 647 CE and was the last ruler of the Vardhana Empire, the last great empire in ancient India before the Islamic Invasion. He ruled...
Collection
The History of the Ukrainian Region
The area of eastern Europe which is today Ukraine, particularly the northern shore of the Black Sea, has attracted many cultures and empires over the centuries. In this collection...
Collection
France v England: The 100 Years' War
There was a bitter rivalry between France and England throughout the 14th and 15th century CE and their frequent battles in this period are now known to history as the Hundred...
Definition
Natchez Trace
Natchez Trace is a historic site and park in the United States commemorated by the Natchez Trail Parkway stretching 444 miles (715 km) from Natchez, Mississippi, through northern Alabama...
Article
The Siege of Acre, 1189-91 CE
The Siege of Acre, located on the northern coast of Israel, was the first major battle of the Third Crusade (1189-1192 CE). The protracted siege by a mixed force of European armies...
Article
The Portuguese Colonization of Madeira
Madeira is a group of volcanic islands in the North Atlantic which were colonised by the Portuguese from 1420. The settlement and distribution of land rights on the uninhabited...
Article
Global Trade in the 13th Century
In the 13th century, astonishing quantities of spices and silk passed from the Far East to Europe. Exact amounts are not known, but spice popularity in both cuisine and medicine...
Early Modern Period
Article
The Portuguese Conquest of India
Throughout the 15th century, the Portuguese Crown yearned for a piece of the Far Eastern spice trade. For centuries this trade had been dominated by the Venetians who obtained...
Definition
Edmond Halley
Edmond Halley (1656-1742) was an English astronomer, mathematician, and cartographer. Halley's Comet is named after him since he accurately predicted its return in 1758. One of the early globetrotting...
Definition
Olympia Fulvia Morata
Olympia Fulvia Morata (l. 1526-1555, also given as Olimpia) was an Italian scholar, poet, and writer who sought to advance the Protestant Reformation in Italy. She was considered one...
Article
Clocks in the Scientific Revolution
Keeping good time proved an elusive objective for centuries, and it was only in the second half of the 17th century, during the Scientific Revolution (1500-1700), that clocks...
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
Anglo-Maratha Wars
The three Anglo-Maratha Wars (1775-1819) were fought between the Maratha Confederacy of India (aka the Mahrattas, 1674-1818) and the British East India Company (EIC). The Maratha Hindu...
Article
Pirate Punishments in the Golden Age of Piracy
Pirates in the Golden Age of Piracy (1690-1730) both dished out and received a wide range of imaginative punishments. Victims of piracy endured torture, floggings...
Article
A Model of Christian Charity and the City on a Hill
A Model of Christian Charity is a sermon delivered by the Puritan John Winthrop (l. c. 1588-1649 CE), second governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, either...
Modern Period
Article
A. H. Foote's Account of the Battle of Fort Henry - Letter to His Wife on the Day of Victory
Union Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote (1806-1863) came to national attention during the American Civil War following his naval victory...
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
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...
Definition
George B. McClellan - The Wrong Man for the Job
George B. McClellan (1826-1885) was an American army officer and engineer who was elevated to the position of Commanding General of the United States Army in 1861...
Article
The Medicine Arrows and the Sacred Hat
The Medicine Arrows and the Sacred Hat is a short essay by anthropologist George Bird Grinnell (l. 1849-1938) explaining the origin and significance of the medicine arrows...
Collection
WWII's Pacific War - A Collection of Resources
This collection of resources presents the Pacific theatre of the Second World War (1939-45), which saw the expansion of the Japanese Empire before the USA was brought...
Article
4 Women of the French Revolution
The French Revolution (1789-1799) sought to dismantle the oppressive society of the old regime and build a new world based on the principles of "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"...
Definition
British Industrial Revolution
The British Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) brought innovative mechanisation and deep social change. The process saw the invention of steam-powered machines, which were used...
Prehistoric Period
Article
Origins of World Agriculture
Agriculture arose independently at several locations across the world, beginning about 12,000 years ago. The first crops and livestock were domesticated in six rather diffuse areas...
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
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...
Article
The Megalithic Funerary Art of San Agustín
Beginning approximately 2000 years ago, in a rugged stretch of southwestern Colombia where the Andes split into multiple ranges and the mighty Magdalena River is born...
Definition
Predynastic Period in Egypt - The Time Before History Began
The Predynastic Period in ancient Egypt is the time before recorded history, from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic Age and on to the rise of the First Dynasty...
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
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
Poulnabrone
Poulnabrone is a portal tomb in the region known as the Burren, County Clare, Ireland and the oldest dated megalithic monument in the land. The name means "Hole of the Quern Stones", but the...
