Featured
Article
Causes of the Russian Revolution of 1917
There were many causes behind the Russian Revolution of 1917, ranging from the unpopular authoritarian rule of Tsar Nicholas II (reign 1894-1917) to the radical mobilisation of the working class, who wanted better working...
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...
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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...
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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
F. Buchanan's Account of the Battle of Hampton Roads - Excerpts From the Official Action Report
Confederate Flag Officer Franklin Buchanan (1800 to 1874) is best known as the commander of the CSS Virginia on the first day...
Article
Battle of Hampton Roads - Clash of the Ironclads
The Battle of Hampton Roads (8-9 March 1862), also known as the Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimack, Battle of Ironclads, or Clash of the Ironclads, was a naval...
Article
The USSR's Great Famine of 1932-3
The USSR's Great Famine of 1932-3 was caused by a combination of aggressive requisitioning of foodstuffs by the state, the sale of grain abroad, persecution of farmers, and...
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...
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Wars of the Roses (1455–1487): York vs. Lancaster - Royal Bloodlines, Rival Claims, and the Tudor Dynasty
The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487) were a series of intermittent civil wars for the English crown between the houses...
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...
Image
Map of the Russian Empire in 1914 - From Muscovy to World War I, 1533–1914
By 1914, the Russian Empire was one of the largest contiguous empires in history, stretching from Eastern Europe across Siberia to the Pacific...
For You
Definition
Mithridates VI
Mithridates VI (120-63 BCE, also known as Mithradates, Mithradates Eupator Dionysius, Mithridates the Great) was the king of Pontus (modern-day northeastern Turkey) who was regarded by his...
Image Gallery
A Panorama of Northern Greece
Northern Greece describes the geographical part of the Greek administrative territory that includes the regions of Macedonia and Thrace. An escape to Macedonia and Thrace for...
Definition
Deianira
Deianira was the second wife of the Greek hero and demi-god Herakles (better known as Hercules, son of the god Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene). She was the daughter of King Oeneus and Queen...
Definition
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is the highest order of knighthood in Britain and the most exclusive with traditionally only 24 knights as full members at any one time, along with...
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 Landmark Thucydides
Covering the conflict between Sparta and Athens and their respective allies in the 5th century BCE this is a fascinating insight into ancient Greek politics, war and society in a crucial...
Book Review
The Origins Of War: From The Stone Age To Alexander The Great
Contrary to popular belief, military history does not begin in Greece. In his book, The Origins of War, Arther Ferrill traces the development of war from...
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| 1,771 | articles |
| 19,882 | illustrations |
| 2,645 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 16,474 | translations |
| 48 | languages |
| 1,346 | contributors |
| 15,653 | keywords |
| 63,247 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Definition
Pylos
Pylos was a significant Mycenaean Bronze Age city located in the region of Messenia, Greece. The site is situated on the hill of Ano Englianos and during its Late Bronze Age occupation between...
Definition
Camillus
Marcus Furius Camillus (c. 445/446-365 BCE) was the first great general of the Roman Republic to also prove himself an able administrator and honorable politician. He was chosen as dictator five...
Definition
Germanicus
Germanicus (15 BCE - 19 CE) was a commander in the Roman Empire with a glowing reputation in his time under the rule of the Emperor Tiberius. His position in the Roman Empire was a unique and...
Article
A Visual Who's Who of Greek Mythology
Achilles The hero of the Trojan War, leader of the Myrmidons, slayer of Hector and Greece's greatest warrior, who sadly came unstuck when Paris sent a flying arrow guided...
Image Gallery
Visual Guide to Ancient Roman Gods & Heroes
This gallery is a visual guide to Roman mythology. It includes some of the more influential or popular deities, heroes and spirits from Roman mythology, and their identifying...
Definition
Bhubaneshwar
Bhubaneshwar (also spelt Bhubaneswar, Bhubanesar, and Bhuvanesvar) is a city located in the Orissa district of north-eastern India and flourished as a centre of Hindu worship from the 7th century...
Definition
Phocion
Phocion (c. 402 – 318 BCE) was an Athenian statesman and military commander who, according to tradition, was made a general a staggering 45 times. A student of Plato and known as 'the Good', his...
Definition
Scythian Religion
Scythian religion appears to be an amalgam of belief in a pantheon of gods grafted to more ancient animal reverence and shamanistic practice. According to their burial finds, the Scythians...
Medieval Period
Article
Christian Antisemitism in the Middle Ages & during the Reformation
Antisemitism is a modern term that describes prejudice and hostility to Jews and Judaism. The origins of Christian antisemitism in the gospels are...
Article
Women in the Viking Age
Although women in the Viking Age (c. 790-1100 CE) lived in a male-dominated society, far from being powerless, they ran farms and households, were responsible for textile production...
Definition
Norse Mythology
Norse mythology refers to the Scandinavian mythological framework that was upheld during and around the time of the Viking Age (c. 790- c. 1100 CE). Complete with a creation myth that has...
Article
Maya Food & Agriculture
For the Maya, reliable food production was so important to their well-being that they closely linked the agricultural cycle to astronomy and religion. Important rituals and ceremonies...
Definition
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson (also spelt Godwineson) reigned briefly as King Harold II of England from January to October 1066 CE, the momentous year which witnessed the Norman conquest and end of 500...
Definition
Conwy Castle
Conwy Castle (aka Conway Castle), located in North Wales, was built by Edward I of England (r. 1272-1307 CE) from 1283 to 1292 CE to protect and maintain, along with several other castles...
Article
William the Conqueror & the Ely Rebellion
By early 1070 CE William I (r. 1066-1087 CE) had almost completed the Norman conquest of England. There remained threats from the border regions with Wales and Scotland...
Definition
Kingdom of West Francia
The Kingdom of West Francia (843-987 CE, also known as The Kingdom of the West Franks) was the region of Western Europe that formed the western part of the Carolingian Empire of Charlemagne...
Early Modern Period
Definition
Treaty of Paris of 1783
The Treaty of Paris, signed on 3 September 1783 by representatives from Great Britain and the United States, was the peace agreement that formally ended the American Revolutionary...
Definition
Michelangelo
Michelangelo (1475-1564 CE) was an Italian artist, architect and poet, who is considered one of the greatest and most influential of all Renaissance figures. His most celebrated works, from...
Article
This Barking Dog - Religion and Homosexuality in the Works of Christopher Marlowe
On 5 May 1593, a series of anti-Protestant bills were posted throughout the city of London. One of the bills was written in iambic pentameter...
Definition
John Adams - Architect of American Independence
John Adams (1735-1826) was an American lawyer, statesman, and diplomat who was a prominent leader of the American Revolution (1765-1789) before going on to serve...
Article
Food & Drink in the Elizabethan Era
Food and drink in the Elizabethan era was remarkably diverse with much more meat and many more varieties of it being eaten by those who could afford it than is the case today...
Article
Trial and Execution of Marie Antoinette
The trial and execution of Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), formerly the queen of France, was among the opening events of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution...
Article
The Life and Death of Sweet Medicine
The Life and Death of Sweet Medicine is a Cheyenne tale of the great prophet and law-giver Sweet Medicine who received the sacred Four Arrows, structure of government, and...
Definition
Marcello Malpighi
Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694) was an Italian scientist and physician famous for discovering the capillaries of the human circulatory system in 1661 and, as the greatest anatomist of the...
Modern Period
Definition
Roman Nose (Cheyenne Warrior)
Roman Nose (Woqini, "Hook Nose", l. c. 1830-1868) was a Northern Cheyenne warrior known for his courage in battle, who became so famous among white settlers and the US military...
Definition
Portuguese Brazil
With a wealth of natural resources, Brazil was by far the most important colony in the Portuguese empire and was, at one time or another, the world’s leading producer of sugar, diamonds...
Definition
War of the Second Coalition
The War of the Second Coalition (1798-1802), part of the broader French Revolutionary Wars, was the second attempt by an alliance of major European powers to defeat Revolutionary...
Definition
Henry Clay - The Great Compromiser
Henry Clay (1777-1852) was an American lawyer and statesman, one of the defining political figures of his age. Over the course of his several decades on the stage of national...
Definition
The Great Game - Britain and Russia's Imperial Rivalry
The Great Game describes the rivalry between the British and Russian empires through the 19th century. The game was primarily concerned with the control of...
Article
8 Sonnets and Songs by William Shakespeare
The literary works of William Shakespeare (l. c. 1564-1616) are often regarded as some of the most important in the English language. Alongside his famous plays, he...
Article
Origin of the Sweat Lodge
The sweat lodge is a temporary or permanent structure integral to Native American culture and frequently used in spiritual ceremonies. The lodge is often a low, dome-shaped, structure...
Article
The Heroic Slave - Frederick Douglass' Novella of the Creole Mutiny
Abolitionist author, orator and statesman Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) is well-known for his speeches, autobiography, and other works addressing...
Prehistoric Period
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
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a Neolithic / Bronze Age monument located on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, southern England. The first monument on the site, began around 3100 BCE, was a circular 'henge' earthwork...
Article
The Meaning of European Upper Paleolithic Rock Art
Rock art (also known as parietal art) is an umbrella term which refers to several types of creations including finger markings left on soft surfaces, bas-relief...
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...
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...
Definition
Göbekli Tepe
“Göbekli Tepe” (“Hill with a Navel”, or “Potbelly Hill”) is found approximately 16 km (10 miles) northeast of Şanlıurfa, an ancient city in southeastern Turkey once named “Edessa” and known...
Article
The Neanderthal-Sapiens Connection
In May 2010, after years of intense discussions surrounding possible fossils of mixed Homo sapiens and Neanderthal descent floating around the scientific community, a team...
Article
Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Societies
Hunter-gatherer societies are – true to their astoundingly descriptive name – cultures in which human beings obtain their food by hunting, fishing, scavenging, and gathering...
