Featured
Definition
William Still - Father of the Underground Railroad
William Still (1819-1902) was an African American abolitionist known as the "Father of the Underground Railroad" for his efforts in helping to free between 600 to 800...
Featured
Image Gallery
A Gallery of 40 Portrait Paintings Through History
Capturing in paint for all time the faces of particular people has been an endeavour of artists for millennia. In this gallery, we present in chronological sequence...
Featured
Image
Mongol Warriors in Deel Robes
An illustration of Mongol warriors carrying out an execution. They are wearing the traditional Mongol deel robe. 14th century CE. (From Rashid-ad-Din's Gami' at-tawarih)
Featured
Image
Nok Sculpture
A terracotta figurine produced by the Nok Culture of southern West Africa (500 BCE - 200 CE). (Louvre Museum, Paris)
Latest Content
Definition
Seven Years' War - The 18th-Century World War
The Seven Years' War (1756-1763) was a global conflict fought between the great powers of Europe in the mid-18th century. The culmination of several decades of conflict...
Article
Top 10 Roman Sites in Bulgaria
Roman Bulgaria occupied an important position in the heart of the Balkans, between the Black Sea, the Aegean, and Asia Minor. In the north, the Danube River formed a heavily...
Definition
Millard Fillmore - The Forgotten US President
Millard Fillmore (1800-1874) was the thirteenth president of the United States. A member of the Whig Party, he was elected vice president in 1849 and assumed the presidency...
Article
The Eternal Life of Gilgamesh - Literary Immortality
The Epic of Gilgamesh is among the most popular works of literature in the present day and has influenced countless readers, but for the greater part of its history...
Article
The Ideal of Christendom in the Middle Ages & Beyond
The ideal of Christendom in antiquity joined separate nations into one single community carrying out the precepts of the God of Israel. Constantine's conversion...
Definition
Gilgamesh - The Historical and Mythical King
Gilgamesh is the semi-mythic King of Uruk, best known as the hero of The Epic of Gilgamesh (circa 2100 to circa 1200 BCE), the great Babylonian poem that predates Homer's...
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Map of North Africa and the Western Mediterranean c. 1065 - Almoravids, Zirids, Hilalian Migrations & Norman Sicily
Around 1065, North Africa and the western Mediterranean were undergoing political fragmentation, migration...
Image
Map of the Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu, c. 1438–1533) - Expansion Across South America, Cities and Roads
The Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu, c. 1438–1533) grew from a highland kingdom centered on Cusco into the largest empire in...
Image
Map of the Middle Kingdom Egypt (c. 2050–1800 BCE) - Reunification, Nubian Frontiers & Trade Networks
The Middle Kingdom of Egypt (c. 2050–1650 BCE) was a period of political reunification, renewed royal authority, and cultural...
For You
Definition
Greek Alphabet
The Greek Alphabet developed from the Phoenician script at some point around the 8th century BCE. The earlier Mycenaean Linear B script, used primarily for lists and inventories, had been...
Article
Ten Great Slave Revolts in Colonial America and the United States
There were 250-311 slave revolts in Colonial America and the United States between c. 1663 and c. 1860 as defined by scholar Herbert Aptheker (l...
Definition
Set (Egyptian God)
Set, also known as Seth and Suetekh, was the Egyptian god of war, chaos, and storms, brother of Osiris, Isis, and Horus the Elder, uncle to Horus the Younger, and brother-husband to Nephthys...
Definition
Ancient Sicily
The Mediterranean island of Sicily, with its natural resources and strategic position on ancient trading routes, aroused the intense interest of successive empires from Carthage to Athens...
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 Phoenicians and the West: Politics, Colonies and Trade
The Phoenicians were one of the most influential ancient Mediterranean cultures, and so it is surprising how few general history books there are on the...
Book Review
Virtuous Bankers: A Day in the Life of the Eighteenth-Century Bank of England
Nicknamed "The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street," the Bank of England is probably the most historically influential British financial organization...
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| 1,764 | articles |
| 19,847 | illustrations |
| 2,642 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 16,298 | translations |
| 48 | languages |
| 1,340 | contributors |
| 15,575 | keywords |
| 61,064 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Article
Herodotus in Art
Herodotus' Histories with their historical, geographical, ethnographic, and religious aspects, have always been a source of delight and interest, not only for generations of readers, students...
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
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
Legio XXI Rapax
Legio XXI Rapax was a legion of the Roman army whose name name "Rapax" means "rapacious" or "greedy". It is not clear when the legion assumed this name; it may or may not be the same 21st...
Definition
Writing - The Preservation of Human Thought and Action
Writing is the physical manifestation of a spoken language. It is thought that human beings developed language circa 35,000 BCE as evidenced by cave paintings...
Interview
Interview: Bringing Down the Roman Empire in a Game
Today we are talking to Jon Shafer, lead designer of the computer game At the Gates, now available on PC, Mac, and Linux. In this game, you control a Barbarian...
Definition
Nephthys
Nephthys was one of the original five gods of ancient Egypt born of the union of Geb (earth) and Nut (sky) after the creation of the world. She was the fourth born after Osiris, Isis, and Set...
Definition
Carthaginian Government
The government of Carthage was based on a system of elected officials accountable to a popular assembly. Unlike its founding city, Tyre in Phoenicia, Carthage did not have a monarchy...
Medieval Period
Definition
Sumo - Japan's Ancient Form of Wrestling
Sumo (Ozumo) is an ancient form of wrestling which has long been the national sport of Japan. Its origins go back to the Yayoi period (c. 300 BCE - c. 300 CE) and it incorporates...
Article
Boccaccio on the Black Death: Text & Commentary
The Black Death is the name given to the plague outbreak in Europe between 1347-1352 CE. The term was only coined after 1800 CE in reference to the black buboes...
Definition
Quetzalcóatl
Quetzalcóatl (pron. Quet-zal-co-at) or 'Plumed Serpent' was one of the most important gods in ancient Mesoamerica. Quetzalcóatl was the god of winds and rain, and the creator of the world and...
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...
Definition
Khajuraho
Khajuraho was an ancient city in the Madhya Pradesh region of northern India. From the 10th to 12th century CE it was the capital of the Chandella kings who ruled Bundelkhand. Despite Khajuraho's...
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...
Interview
Information & Communication Technologies in Cultural Heritage & Tourism
Information and communication technologies (ICT) are revolutionizing the ways in which the public interacts, understands, and appreciates the...
Definition
Beaumaris Castle
Beaumaris Castle, located on Anglesey, Wales, was built from 1295 CE by Edward I of England (r. 1272-1307 CE) to protect his territorial gains in the region. The castle featured the latest...
Early Modern Period
Definition
Roanoke Colony - The Colony that Disappeared
The Roanoke Colony was England's first colony in North America, located in what is today North Carolina, USA. Established in 1585 CE, abandoned and then resettled in...
Definition
Indian Princely States
The Indian Princely states (aka Native States or Princely India) were those states in the Indian subcontinent the British did not conquer but which were typically bound by treaty first...
Article
Ten Native American Legendary Creatures You Need to Know
Native American lore features many legendary creatures and supernatural entities that were understood as beneficial to humanity but just as many that posed...
Definition
Blackbeard
Blackbeard (d. 1718), otherwise known as Edward Teach (probably an assumed name), was an infamous English pirate who operated in the Caribbean and Atlantic during a surprisingly short career...
Definition
William Howe
Sir William Howe (1729-1814) was a British military officer and politician, most notable for his role as commander-in-chief of the British army during the initial years of the American Revolutionary...
Article
Battle of Hondschoote
The Battle of Hondschoote, fought on 6-8 September 1793, was a major turning point in the Flanders Campaign of 1792-1795 during the French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802). An army of...
Definition
Coup of 18 Brumaire
The Coup of 18 Brumaire (9-10 November 1799) was a bloodless coup d'état in France that overthrew the government of the French Directory and replaced it with the French Consulate. The...
Image Gallery
A Gallery of Mughal Paintings
In this gallery, we present many fine examples of paintings from the Mughal Empire (1526-1857). Espoused and cultivated by the Mughal court, the artform married the bold styles...
Modern Period
Definition
Korean War - How the Cold War Became a Hot War
The Korean War was a Cold War conflict that took place between North and South Korea from 1950 to 1953. It pitted US-led United Nations (UN) forces against the communist...
Article
Vienna’s Legacy: The Habsburg Empire on the Intellectual Map
While most people today know about the influence of London, Paris, and New York on modern thought, Vienna makes few appearances in people’s discussions...
Definition
1918 Flu Pandemic - The Deadliest Pandemic in History
The Spanish flu (so-named because the Spanish press openly reported on the outbreak while other World War I belligerents suppressed the news) broke out in March...
Article
The Brave Who Went on the Warpath Alone and Won the Name of the Lone Warrior
The Brave Who Went on the Warpath Alone and Won the Name of the Lone Warrior is a Sioux tale in the tradition of the hero's journey in which...
Definition
Chunkey
Chunkey (tchung-kee) is a Native American game involving a rolling disc (or ring) and two teams of players who score by throwing their sticks to land as close to the disc as possible. The game...
Article
Interview: French Fashion during the German Occupation (1940-1944)
In 2024, France was celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Liberation (1944), and as part of a series of conferences organised by the Société archéologique...
Image Gallery
The Story of WWI in 50 Images
The First World War (1914-18) was the first global conflict, the first mechanised conflict, and the first to involve civilians far from the fighting front. In this gallery of...
Definition
John Bell Hood - The Most Aggressive Confederate General
John Bell Hood (1831-1879) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Known for his aggressive style of leadership, he initially...
Prehistoric Period
Definition
Lascaux Cave
Lascaux Cave is a Palaeolithic cave situated in southwestern France, near the village of Montignac in the Dordogne region, which houses some of the most famous examples of prehistoric cave...
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...
Article
The Stonehenge Burials
A great deal has been written about why the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, southern England, was constructed. Perhaps it was designed as a temple to the ancestors...
Definition
Woolly Mammoth
The woolly mammoth, Mammuthus primigenius, is an extinct herbivore related to elephants who trudged across the steppe-tundras of Eurasia and North America from around 300,000 years ago until...
Image Gallery
Prehistoric Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly are a small island group west of Cornwall. Despite their small size, they abound in prehistoric sites dating from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age, including...
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
Knap of Howar
The Knap of Howar is a Neolithic site on the island of Papa Westray in Orkney, Scotland. The name is Old Norse for `mound of mounds' or `large barrow'. The building preserved at the site...
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...
