Featured
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 difficult of the Normandy landings, but by the end of the day, the beachhead...
Featured
Collection
The Normandy Landings
In this collection of resources, we look at the events of D-Day, 6 June 1944, when the Allies stormed the Normandy beaches in France on the first day of a campaign to free Western Europe...
Featured
Image
Map of The D-Day and the Normandy Landings, June 1944 - Operation Overlord & History's Largest Amphibious Invasion
The Allied landings in Normandy on 6 June 1944, commonly known as D-Day, marked one of the most significant...
Featured
Image
Alexander the Great’s Eight Bodyguards - The Somatophylakes and the Macedonian Empire
Under Philip II of Macedon (reign 359–336 BCE) and Alexander the Great (reign 336–323 BCE), the somatophylakes (“bodyguards”) formed...
Latest Content
Definition
Almourol Castle - Island Fortress of the Knights Templar
Almourol Castle in Portugal was built on a 310-meter-long and 75-meter-wide granite islet in the middle of the Tagus River. Earlier Roman and Moorish structures...
Definition
George H. Thomas - The Underrated Hero of the Union
George H. Thomas (1816 to 1870) was a Union general in the American Civil War who first came to national attention after his victory at the Battle of Mill Springs...
Article
Why Japan's Kamikaze Attacks Failed in WWII
Kamikaze attacks were made by Japanese servicemen throughout the final, desperate year of the Second World War (1939-45). Planes, piloted rockets, and boats were packed...
Definition
Abraham Lincoln - Preserver of the Union
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the sixteenth president of the United States. He led the country through the tumultuous...
Article
N. Bart Pearce Account of the Battle of Wilson's Creek - The Confederate View of the Conflict
Nicholas Bartlett Pearce (better known as N. Bart Pearce, 1828 to 1894) was a brigadier general in the Arkansas Militia who allied...
Definition
Thaddeus Stevens - American Jacobin
Thaddeus Stevens (1792-1868) was a US politician and abolitionist, who rose to prominence in the 1860s during the American Civil War and Reconstruction eras. A leader of the...
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Map of the Norman Conquest of England, 1066–1086 - From Hastings to Domesday – The Making of Norman England
The Norman Conquest of England began in 1066 after the death of Edward the Confessor (reign 1042–1066) without a direct...
Image
Map of the Caucasus after the Peace of Nisibis 299 CE - Roman and Sasanian Power on the Caucasian Frontier
The Peace of Nisibis (299 CE) ended the Roman–Sasanian War of 296–299 CE after Galerius, Caesar under the Roman emperor...
Image
Map of the African Slave Trade Networks, c. 1750 - Atlantic, Trans-Saharan, Red Sea & Indian Ocean Routes
By c. 1750, the slave trades affecting Africa were entering a period of major transformation. Long-established trans-Saharan...
For You
Definition
Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings (1732-1818) was appointed the Governor of Bengal by the British East India Company (EIC) in 1772 and became its first Governor-General in India from 1774 to 1785. Under his...
Definition
Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilization was a cultural and political entity which flourished in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent between c. 7000 - c. 600 BCE. Its modern name...
Definition
Serf
Medieval serfs (aka villeins) were unfree labourers who worked the land of a landowner (or tenant) in return for physical and legal protection and the right to work a separate piece of land for their...
Definition
Amarna Letters
The Amarna Letters are a body of 14th-century BCE correspondence exchanged between the rulers of the Ancient Near East and Egypt. They are perhaps the earliest examples of international diplomacy...
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
Organizing Workers in the Shadow of Slavery: Global Inequality, Racial Boundaries, and the Rise of Unions in American and British Capitalism, 1870–1929
Racism is often considered a question of thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. The...
Book Review
Uncovering the Culture of Ancient India
Uncovering the Culture of Ancient India is a book published by Alix Wood Books that belongs to a series about ancient Britain, Egypt, Greece, India, Mesopotamia and Peru...
Statistics
| 2,975 | definitions |
| 1,749 | articles |
| 19,721 | illustrations |
| 2,623 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 15,769 | translations |
| 47 | languages |
| 1,327 | contributors |
| 15,380 | keywords |
| 54,390 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Definition
Sui Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE) was a brief one with only two reigning emperors but it managed to unify China following the split of the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. As had happened...
Definition
Diomedes
Diomedes is the king of Argos and a hero in Greek mythology. He was one of the leading warriors in the Trojan War, with the reputation of being gifted and strong in combat. He contributed 80 ships...
Interview
Interview: Circe by Madeline Miller
Award-winning writer Madeline Miller's newest novel, Circe, tells the story of a sorceress who was once the onetime lover of the wily Odysseus. The heart of the novel is...
Article
Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird
Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird is a Sumerian myth dated to the Ur III Period (2047-1750 BCE) featuring the hero-king of Uruk, Lugalbanda, father of Gilgamesh, in his younger years...
Article
Psychological Intimidation at the Battle of Carrhae
Psychological intimidation in military conflict has been an art of war since ancient times. Employing misinformation, feigned movements, subtle messaging, and...
Definition
Cyclades
The Cyclades are a group of islands in the southern Aegean situated between the Greek mainland and Turkey. The name was coined in the Archaic period as the islands form an approximate circle (kyklos...
Article
Monsters & Heroes of Scotland: Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness
Loch Ness is one of the most beautiful lakes in Scotland and no one needs the attraction of the mythical monster to enjoy a visit. The majestic ruins of...
Definition
Korean Pottery
The pottery of ancient Korea stretches back to prehistory when simple brown wares were made and decorated with geometrical incisions. Potters would benefit from the ideas and techniques of...
Medieval Period
Definition
Henry III of England
Henry III of England ruled from 1216 to 1272 CE. The son of the unpopular King John of England (r. 1199-1216 CE), Henry was immediately faced with the ongoing Barons' War which had been...
Definition
Leo V the Armenian
Leo the V the Armenian was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 813 to 820 CE. He was of Armenian descent and the last ruler of the Isaurian dynasty which had been founded by Leo III (r...
Definition
William I of Scotland
William I of Scotland, also known as 'William the Lion' after his heraldic emblem, reigned from 1165 to 1214 CE. Succeeding his elder brother Malcolm IV of Scotland (r. 1153-1165 CE...
Article
Chaucer's The Book of the Duchess Full Text & Summary
The Book of the Duchess is the first major work of the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer (l. c. 1343-1400 CE), best known for his masterpiece The Canterbury Tales...
Definition
Borobudur
The Temple of Borobudur or sometimes "Barabudur" is a Mahayana Buddhist temple located close to Muntilan on the island of Java in Indonesia. Built during the rule of the Sailendra Dynasty (c...
Definition
Viking Warfare
Viking warfare, along with its key component of raiding, is inextricably connected with the expansion of Scandinavian influence along the North Atlantic and into the Mediterranean in the...
Article
Aztec Ceremonial Knife
The Aztec mosaic-handled knife currently in the British Museum, London dates to between 1400 and 1521 CE and is thought to have been used in religious ceremonies. Made from wood and...
Definition
The Canterbury Tales
The Canterbury Tales (written c. 1388-1400 CE) is a medieval literary work by the poet Geoffrey Chaucer (l. c. 1343-1400 CE) comprised of 24 tales related to a number of literary genres...
Early Modern Period
Definition
1st Rhode Island Regiment
The 1st Rhode Island Regiment, also known as Varnum's Regiment or the Black Regiment, was a regiment of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). It...
Article
Canons of the Council of Trent
The Canons of the Council of Trent (1545-1563) were rules one was expected to follow in order to be a member of the Catholic Church and, according to the Church's teachings...
Article
Battle of Flamborough Head
The Battle of Flamborough Head (23 September 1779) was one of the most famous naval engagements of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). Fought off the coast of Yorkshire...
Definition
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (1747-1792) was a Scottish-born sailor who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). His raid on the English port town of Whitehaven...
Article
Hei Tiki
The hei tiki is a small personal adornment, fashioned by hand from tough pounamu (New Zealand greenstone or nephrite jade), and is worn around the neck. Hei means something looped around the neck...
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...
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...
Article
The Microscope & the Scientific Revolution
The microscope was one of the most significant inventions of the Scientific Revolution, opening up completely new and miniaturised worlds. The first microscopes were...
Modern Period
Article
First Battle of El Alamein
The First Battle of El Alamein (1-27 July 1942) was a series of encounters during the Second World War (1939-1945) in Egypt between Allied and Axis forces. The battle, focussed around...
Definition
Treaties of Tilsit
The Treaties of Tilsit were two peace treaties signed in July 1807 by Emperor Napoleon I of France (r. 1804-1814; 1815) and the monarchs of Russia and Prussia in the aftermath of the Battle...
Image Gallery
A Gallery of Ancient Japanese Pagodas
In this gallery, we look at some of the most famous pagodas in Japan, many of which are classified as National Treasures. Pagodas are tall, multi-storied structures which...
Definition
Gallipoli Campaign - Churchill's Folly in World War I
The Gallipoli Campaign took place in Turkey in 1915-16 during the First World War (1914-18). This major expedition involved British, French, Australian, and...
Definition
Atlanta Campaign - The Bloody Struggle for Georgia During the US Civil War
The Atlanta Campaign (7 May to 2 September 1864) was a major military campaign in the western theater of the American Civil War (1861-1865...
Article
Eyewitness Accounts of the Pacific War - From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima
The Pacific War (1941-45) was the theatre of the Second World War that saw Imperial Japan and the United States, with its allies, fight for control...
Definition
Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch or Munich Putsch was a failed attempt by the German National Socialist (Nazi) Party to seize power, first of the Bavarian and then the German federal government on 8-9...
Article
Child Labour in the British Industrial Revolution
Children were widely used as labour in factories, mines, and agriculture during the British Industrial Revolution (1760-1840). Very often working the same 12-hour...
Prehistoric Period
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
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
Venus Figurine
The term Venus figurine is used to describe the more than 200 small statuettes of voluptuous female figures that have been found at Upper Paleolithic sites across Europe and some parts of...
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...
Article
Lost Civilisations of Anatolia: Göbekli Tepe
Göbekli Tepe is the world's oldest example of monumental architecture; a 'temple' built at the end of the last Ice Age, 12,000 years ago. It was discovered in 1995...
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
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...
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...
