Featured
Definition
Gunpowder Plot - Guy Fawkes & the Plan to Blow up Parliament
The 1605 Gunpowder Plot was a failed attempt by pro-Catholic conspirators to blow up the English Parliament on 5 November and kill King James I of England...
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
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...
Featured
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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...
Latest Content
Article
Federalist No. 10 - James Madison's Antidote to the Dangers of Factionalism
Federalist No. 10 was an essay written by James Madison, under the pseudonym Publius, and originally published in the New York Daily Advisor...
Article
Stalin's Collectivisation of Agriculture
Joseph Stalin's policy to collect private farms into cooperatives and wholly state-owned farms across the USSR began in 1928. Stalin hoped the process of collectivisation...
Article
James Longstreet's Account of the Battle of Gettysburg - Excerpts From the Official Action Report
At the Battle of Gettysburg (1-3 July 1863) Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet urged his commanding officer...
Article
Gilgamesh and Huwawa - The Epic Battle of the Cedar Forest
Gilgamesh and Huwawa is a Sumerian poem relating the expedition of Gilgamesh and Enkidu to the Cedar Forest and the slaying of the monster-demon Huwawa...
Article
Stalin's Five-Year Plans - Collectivising Agriculture & Industrialising the USSR
Joseph Stalin's Five-Year Plans (1928-50) were a series of state-led initiatives which aimed to grow the economy of the USSR, rapidly industrialise...
Curriculum Collection
AP World History Unit 6 - Consequences of Industrialization (c. 1750–1900)
With industrialization, a small number of states gained the ability to project power across the globe. Steamships, railroads, machine guns...
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Map of the Vedic Age in South Asia, c. 1500–500 BCE - Indo-Aryan Migrations, Vedic Culture & Early States
The Vedic Age (c. 1500–500 BCE) was a formative period in the history of South Asia, named after the Vedas, a collection...
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The United States Constitution, 1787
The United States Constitution, drafted in Philadelphia in 1787, established the legal and political framework of the American republic, replacing the Articles of Confederation...
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Map of the Trade in the Indian Ocean 15th–16th Centuries - Monsoon Routes, Spice Trade, and European Expansion
Indian Ocean trade in the 15th and 16th centuries connected East Africa, Arabia, Persia, India, Southeast Asia...
For You
Definition
Delos
Delos is a Greek island in the Cyclades archipelago which was both an influential political force and, with its sanctuary to the god Apollo, an important religious centre in the Archaic and Classical...
Definition
Mount Fuji - Japan's Tallest and Most Sacred Mountain
Mt. Fuji (Fujisan) is the tallest mountain in Japan and, with its classically symmetrical snow-capped cone, has long been the symbol of that country. The volcano...
Definition
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments introduce the legislation received by Moses on Mt. Sinai after the Israelites escaped from Egypt (as related in the biblical book of Exodus). The "ten commandments"...
Definition
Ptolemy XII
Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos (r. 80-51 BCE) was king of Ptolemaic Egypt and father of Cleopatra VII (r. 51-30 BCE). His illegitimate birth and drunkenness inspired ridicule, and he was nicknamed...
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
Trade, Traders and the Ancient City
This book on trade and commerce in antiquity is a blend of papers that originated from a conference at the University of St Andrews on 11 and 12 July 1995. Additional contributions...
Book Review
Inventing the Way of the Samurai: Nationalism, Internationalism, and Bushidō in Modern Japan (The Past & Present Book Series)
Japan is known for many different things, but one popular image associated with the country is that...
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| 1,768 | articles |
| 19,874 | illustrations |
| 2,643 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 16,444 | translations |
| 48 | languages |
| 1,345 | contributors |
| 15,635 | keywords |
| 62,823 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Article
Gorgias' On Nature (On the Non-Existent)
Gorgias of Leontini (l. c. 427 BCE) was a famous Greek Sophist who claimed that nothing exists and, even if it does, its nature cannot be understood and, even if it could...
Article
12 Great Cities of Ancient Mesopotamia - The Rise and Fall of the Earliest Cities in the World
The great cities of Mesopotamia ("the land between two rivers") developed prior to the late 4th millennium BCE along two rivers...
Collection
The History of Christmas Celebrations
In this collection of resources we look at the origins of Christmas and the story of the Nativity, the pagan traditions that have influenced how the holiday has been celebrated...
Definition
Terracotta Army
The Terracotta Army refers to the thousands of life-size clay models of soldiers, horses, and chariots which were deposited around the grand mausoleum of Shi Huangdi, first emperor of China...
Definition
Kim Yu-sin
Kim Yu-sin (aka Kim Yushin, 595-673 CE) was a general of the Silla kingdom which ruled south-eastern Korea during the Three Kingdoms Period. Kim would greatly help Silla unify Korea, famously...
Definition
Gymnasium - The Ancient Greek Building for Sport & Study
The Gymnasium was a Greek building originally used for athletic activities but which came, over time, to be used also as a place of study and philosophical...
Definition
Vercingetorix
Vercingetorix (82-46 BCE) was a Gallic chieftain who rallied the tribes of Gaul (modern-day France) to repel the Roman invasion of Julius Caesar in 52 BCE. His name means "Victor of a Hundred...
Definition
Uluru
Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock and pronounced: ool-or-roo) is a large natural sandstone rock formation located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It stands at a massive 348 meters tall and...
Medieval Period
Article
The Impact of Prejudice on the History of Great Zimbabwe
Between 850 BCE and 1600 CE, great civilizations thrived in Africa, yet few non-Africans have learned about them. While some may be familiar with the achievements...
Definition
Emma of Normandy
Emma of Normandy (died 1052), the wife of King Aethelred the Unready from 1002 to 1016 and then the wife of King Cnut from 1017 to 1035, was a dominant player in English politics for nearly...
Definition
Khosrow II
Khosrow II (aka Kosrau II, r. 590-628) was the last powerful shahanshah (king of kings) of the Sassanian Empire. Grandson of Kosrau I (r. 531-579) and near-conqueror of the Byzantine Empire...
Image Gallery
10 Maps on European History
In this gallery of 10 maps on European history, we explore the dynamic borders and the fragile quest for peace on the continent. Witness the shifting borders and the persistent...
Definition
Aihole
Aihole (Ayyavole) was an ancient walled city in Karnataka, central India. Aihole was the first regional capital of the Karnakata region under the rule of the Chalukyas. The large number of early...
Definition
Birka
Birka, located on the island of Björkö in present-day Sweden, was an important trading center and strongly fortified town in the Viking Age which flourished from the 8th through the 10th centuries...
Definition
Donation of Constantine
The Donation of Constantine (Donatio Constantini or the Donatio) is a medieval forgery dated to the 8th century purporting to be an original 4th-century document in which the Roman...
Definition
Wolof Empire
The Wolof (aka Jolof or Djolof) Empire was a state on the coast of West Africa, located between the Senegal and Gambia rivers, which thrived from the mid-14th to mid-16th century CE. The empire...
Early Modern Period
Definition
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) was the most important microscopist of the Scientific Revolution. The Dutchman made over 500 microscopes, many with a magnification far superior...
Article
The Textile Industry in the British Industrial Revolution
During the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840), textile production was transformed from a cottage industry to a highly mechanised one where workers were present...
Article
The Printing Revolution in Renaissance Europe
The arrival in Europe of the printing press with moveable metal type in the 1450s CE was an event which had enormous and long-lasting consequences. The German printer...
Article
The Portuguese in East Africa
The Portuguese first took an interest in East Africa from the beginning of the 16th century as their empire spread eastwards across the Indian Ocean. Trade in the region was already...
Definition
Charlotte Corday
Charlotte Corday (1768-1793) played a prominent role in the French Revolution (1789-1799) when she assassinated radical activist Jean-Paul Marat in his bathtub on 13 July 1793. Despite her...
Definition
Assembly of Notables of 1787
The meeting of the Assembly of Notables in 1787 was a last-ditch effort by the ministers of King Louis XVI of France (r. 1774-1792) to fix the disastrous condition of French finances...
Definition
French and Indian War - The Final Clash of Empires in North America
The French and Indian War (1754-1763) was the last great colonial conflict waged between Great Britain and France in North America. Often considered...
Definition
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire was established from the 15th century and eventually stretched from the Americas to Japan. Very often a string of coastal trading centres with defensive fortifications...
Modern Period
Article
Sioux Life Lessons: Iktomi and the Muskrat & Iktomi's Blanket
The Sioux stories known as Iktomi tales concern the trickster figure Iktomi (also known as Unktomi) who appears, variously, as a hero, sage, villain...
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...
Article
Key British Weapons of World War I
The First World War (1914-18) witnessed an arsenal of new weapons as all sides were desperate to gain an advantage, particularly in the static trench warfare of the Western...
Article
Discovery of X-Rays
The discovery of X-rays – a form of invisible radiation that can pass through objects, including human tissue – revolutionised science and medicine in the late 19th century. Wilhelm Conrad...
Article
Manabozho Tales
Manabozho tales are the stories of the trickster figure and culture hero of the Ojibwe (Ojibway/Chippewa) and other Algonquin Native American nations of present-day northern United States...
Definition
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was a German composer of Romantic music best known for his symphonies, songs, and orchestral, chamber, and piano music. A great student of the history of music...
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
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is a philosophy founded by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and then extended by other thinkers, notably John Stuart Mill (1806-1873). Utilitarianism involves the greatest happiness...
Prehistoric Period
Definition
Oldowan Tools
The appearance of simple stone tools, widely known as Oldowan tools or the Oldowan industry, marked the beginning of our technological revolution. To our knowledge, these artifacts appeared...
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
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...
Article
The Megalithic Temples of Malta
The megalithic temples of Malta and Gozo rank amongst the oldest free-standing buildings in the world. Construction of these temples started c. 3500 BCE, an impressive architectural...
Definition
Chauvet Cave
The Chauvet Cave (also known as the Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave) is a Palaeolithic cave situated near Vallon-Pont-d'Arc in the Ardèche region of southern France that houses impeccably preserved...
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...
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
Homo Floresiensis
Homo floresiensis, nicknamed 'hobbit' because it only stood about 1 meter tall, is an extinct species of fossil human that lived on the island of Flores, Indonesia during the Pleistocene...
