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...
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
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
Image Gallery
A Gallery of Mesopotamian Religion
Mesopotamian religion was informed by the belief that humans were co-workers with the gods in maintaining the order created at the beginning of time and so religious expression...
Interview
Interview: Preclassic Maya
The genesis of Maya civilization in Mesoamerica was marked by an effervescence in the arts, the beginnings of their written language with glyphs, and a great attention to detail...
Definition
Red Cloud
Red Cloud (Makhpiya-luta, l. 1822-1909) was an Oglala Lakota Sioux chief, statesman, and military strategist who became the only Native American leader of the Plains Indians to win a war against...
Definition
Portuguese Cochin
Cochin, located on the southwest coast of India, was a Portuguese colony from 1503 to 1663. Known to the Portuguese as Cochim, it was one of several important cities on India’s Malabar...
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
Sex and Sexuality in Ancient Rome
With this one, the entire premise of the book is in the title, it is all about sex and sexuality in ancient Rome. Trafford begins by outlining the language used in ancient...
Book Review
Voices of Dissent: An Essay
Romila Thapar's latest addition to the study of the ancient history of India and its presence in modern times has been elegantly translated through her book Voices of Dissent: An...
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| 1,771 | articles |
| 19,882 | illustrations |
| 2,645 | videos |
| 415 | 3D images |
| 16,483 | translations |
| 48 | languages |
| 1,346 | contributors |
| 15,653 | keywords |
| 63,381 | registered users |
Ancient Period
Definition
Chariot
The chariot was a light vehicle, usually on two wheels, drawn by one or more horses, often carrying two standing persons, a driver and a fighter using bow-and-arrow or javelins. The chariot was...
Collection
Elite Warriors in History
Winning battles and forging empires was not just about numbers but also the quality of the troops at any commander's disposal. The best-trained, best-equipped and most experienced...
Article
The Hellenistic World: The World of Alexander the Great
The Hellenistic World (from the Greek word Hellas for Greece) is the known world after the conquests of Alexander the Great and corresponds roughly with the...
Interview
Interview: Metsamor Archaeological Site
Metsamor, which is located 32 km (20 mi) west of Yerevan, Armenia is one of the most interesting archaeological sites in the Caucasus. While first settled and founded...
Definition
Book of Revelation
The book of Revelation or the Apocalypse of John of Patmos is one of the most famous books in the New Testament. Written near the end of the 1st century CE, it is the only apokalypsis...
Definition
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of the state god of the ancient Kingdom of Israel and, later, the Kingdom of Judah. His name is composed of four Hebrew consonants (YHWH, known as the Tetragrammaton) which the...
Article
The Life of Crates of Thebes in Diogenes Laertius
Crates of Thebes (l. c. 360-280 BCE) was one of the most important Cynic philosophers of ancient Greece. He was born to a wealthy family in Thebes but gave away...
Definition
Garuda
Garuda is a bird creature from Hindu mythology that has a mix of eagle and human features. He is the vehicle (vahana) of Vishnu and appears on the god's banner. Garuda represents birth and heaven...
Medieval Period
Collection
The Arthurian Legend
The Arthurian Legend developed in Europe between c. 830, when the Welsh historian Nennius first mentions King Arthur through c. 1469 when Sir Thomas Malory composes Le Morte D’Arthur...
Definition
Anglo-Saxon Warfare
Anglo-Saxon warfare was characterised by frequent and violent conflicts between petty kings, which ultimately led to the rise of larger kingdoms such as the Kingdom of Mercia, the Kingdom...
Definition
The Constantinian Excerpts - The 10th Century Byzantine Encyclopedia
The Constantinian Excerpts, or Excerpta Constantiniana is the conventional name given to the mid-10th Century Byzantine palace encyclopedia commissioned...
Definition
Saint Cuthbert
Saint Cuthbert (c. 634 - 20 March 687) was an Anglo-Saxon monk from the Kingdom of Northumbria, who became the bishop of Lindisfarne and one of the most important saints of the medieval church...
Definition
Mongol Warfare
The Mongols conquered vast swathes of Asia in the 13th and 14th century CE thanks to their fast light cavalry and excellent bowmen, but another significant contribution to their success was...
Article
Visiting Glastonbury - the Town of Myths & Legends
The Somerset Levels is an area of the British Isles that captivates visitors with its stunning natural landscape and historical sites and monuments. Glastonbury...
Definition
Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I of Castile (1451-1504), was Queen of Castile (r. 1474-1504) and of Aragon (r. 1479-1504) alongside her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon (1452-1516). Her reign included the unification...
Definition
Inca Architecture
Inca architecture includes some of the most finely worked stone structures from any ancient civilization. Inca buildings were almost always practical and pleasing to the eye. They are also...
Early Modern Period
Article
Battle of Edgehill
The Battle of Edgehill in Warwickshire on 23 October 1642 was an early engagement in the English Civil Wars (1642-1651) and the first major battle of that conflict. The Royalist forces...
Collection
20 Battles of the American Revolution
The American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) was a long and bitter conflict fought between Great Britain and its rebellious thirteen colonies, which were struggling for independence...
Definition
13 Vendémiaire
The Revolt of 13 Vendémiaire Year IV (5 October 1795) was a royalist uprising in Paris during the French Revolution (1789-1799). In response to the anti-royalist policies of the Thermidorian...
Article
Excerpts from Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation
William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation is the first-hand account of the voyage of the ship Mayflower, founding of Plymouth Colony in modern-day Massachusetts...
Definition
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) was a French scientist, mathematician, and philosopher whose work influenced both the Scientific Revolution and later European thought. Pascal is known for his practical...
Definition
New England Colonies
The New England Colonies were the settlements established by English religious dissenters along the coast of the north-east of North America between 1620-1640 CE. The original colonies...
Definition
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were a series of acts passed by the Parliament of Great Britain between 1767 and 1768 to tax and regulate the Thirteen Colonies of North America. When the colonists considered...
Definition
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia, the name given to the multiple treaties, marked the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War. Signed on 24 October 1648, it aimed to secure political autonomy for...
Modern Period
Article
Battle of York
The Battle of York (27 April 1813) was a major battle in the War of 1812. It saw an American army, under Brigadier General Zebulon Pike, defeat a British, Canadian, and Ojibwe force to seize...
Definition
Tamahay (Eastman's Biography)
Tamahay (Tahama, Tamaha, "Pike", l. c. 1776-1864) was a Mdewakanton Dakota Sioux guide and scout who sided with the Americans against the British during the War of 1812. He was...
Image Gallery
75 Images of the Pacific War
In this gallery of 75 images, we examine the key features of WWII's Pacific War. After the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the US naval base in Hawaii, Japan continued to expand its...
Article
10 World War I Poems
The First World War (1914-18) stimulated a great wave of literary output, not least in the field of poetry. In an era when photography and film were still in their infancy, poems, especially...
Definition
Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) was an Austrian composer, most famous for his nine grand symphonies and his church music. Never quite gaining full recognition for his work until he was in his...
Definition
Luddite
The Luddites, named after their legendary leader Ned Ludd, were workers who protested at the mechanization of the textile industry during the Industrial Revolution. From 1811 to 1816, the violent...
Article
Battle of Chillianwala
The Battle of Chillianwala on 13 January 1849 was a bloody and indecisive clash between the British East India Company (EIC) and the Sikh Empire during the Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848-9...
Definition
Gertrude Bell
Gertrude Bell (l. 1868-1926) was an archaeologist, travel writer, explorer, and political administrator responsible for creating the borders of the countries of the Near East after World War...
Prehistoric Period
Article
Dynamics of the Neolithic Revolution
The Neolithic Revolution began between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago at several widely dispersed locations across the world, when our ancestors first began planting and raising...
Definition
Newgrange
Newgrange is a Neolithic monument located in the region of Bru na Boinne, County Meath, Ireland. The name is fairly modern and comes from the 'newer' grange (farm) of the monks of Mellifont Abbey...
Article
Prehistoric Alpine Stilt Houses
Alpine stilt houses are a unique and fascinating aspect of prehistoric architecture in the Alps, which provide valuable insights into the lives and culture of the ancient communities...
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...
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
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...
Article
Stone Age Tools
As the Stone Age covers around 99% of our human technological history, it would seem there is a lot to talk about when looking at the development of tools in this period. Despite our reliance...
