Featured
Definition
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus (l. 1451-1506 CE, also known as Cristoffa Corombo in Ligurian and Cristoforo Colombo in Italian) was a Genoese explorer (identified as Italian) who became famous in his own time as the man who discovered the New World and, since the 19th century CE, is credited with the discovery of North America, specifically...
Featured
Article
Clothing in the Victorian Era - Getting the Right Balance of Fabric, Figure, and Flashiness
Striking silhouettes, sumptuous fabrics, bright colours, frills galore, and all manner of ornate accessories define the clothing...
Featured
Image
Map of the Spread of the Black Death, c. 1346–1353 - Trade, Transmission & the Second Plague Pandemic
The Black Death was the catastrophic first great wave of the Second Plague Pandemic, caused by the bacterium Yersinia...
Featured
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12 Women Rulers of the Ancient World - Queens, Regents & Empresses Who Exercised State Power
Political power in the ancient world rested on dynastic legitimacy, control of court and military institutions, religious authority...
Latest Content
Article
Drinking Customs in Merry Olde England
Raising toasts, sharing cups of cheer, and singing raucous songs while partaking of alcohol are customs which date back to the early Middle Ages in England. Several of...
Article
Officers of the Roman Army
With the appearance of the legionary, the Roman army was able to maintain a vast empire that totally embraced the Mediterranean Sea. Although the success of the army rested on the...
Article
How Music and Politics Intertwined in the Time of Louis XIV
During the reign of Louis XIV of France (1643-1715), music accompanied some of the most visible occasions of royal life: entrances, diplomatic receptions...
Article
Ming Taxation & the Silver Economy
The rulers of China's Ming dynasty (1368-1644) acquired an insatiable desire for silver in the 16th century, largely to pay for huge prestige projects like building the Forbidden...
Article
U. S. Grant's Account of the Battle of Fort Donelson - Excerpts from the Official Action Report
Ulysses S. Grant's victory at the Battle of Fort Donelson (11-16 February 1862) during the American Civil War elevated him...
Curriculum Collection
AP World History Unit 5 - Revolutions (c. 1750–1900)
Two major revolutions remade the world between 1750 and 1900. The first was a revolution of the mind: thinkers of the Enlightenment argued that authority was...
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Map of the Ottoman Empire under Suleiman the Magnificent - Ottoman Conquest, Diplomacy, and Law, 1520–1566
The Ottoman Empire under Suleiman I (reign 1520–1566), known as Suleiman the Magnificent in Europe and Kanuni (the...
Image
Map of the Tang Empire under Emperor Gaozong, c. 669 - Tang power from China to Central Asia
The Tang Dynasty (618–907) was one of the most powerful and influential dynasties in Chinese history. During the reign of Emperor...
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Map of the French Revolution & Revolutionary Wars, 1789–1799 - From the Fall of Monarchy to the Rise of Bonaparte
The French Revolution (1789–1799) was a decade of political and social upheaval that dismantled France's Ancien...
For You
Article
T. R. Dew's A Review of the Debate in the Virginia Legislature of 1831 and 1832
T. R. Dew's A Review of the Debate in the Virginia Legislature of 1831 and 1832 is a pro-slavery work written in response to calls for...
Definition
Józef Poniatowski
Prince Józef Poniatowski (1763-1813) was a Polish soldier and patriot, who served as commander-in-chief of the Polish army during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). A steadfast ally of French...
Definition
Khatam
Khatam is a decoration technique used exclusively on wooden objects and one of Iran's finest and most delicate crafts consisting of geometrical patterns. Small squares or triangles are laid next...
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...
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
Delivered Under Fire: Absalom Markland and Freedom's Mail
In today’s world of instantaneous text messages, emails, and video calls, it is easy to take reliable communication for granted. These technologies have...
Book Review
Cleopatra's Daughter: From Roman Prisoner to African Queen
Divided into twelve chapters, the book is a journey through Cleopatra Selene II's life and times. While Selene's life and reign have been studied by other...
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| 19,829 | illustrations |
| 2,641 | videos |
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| 1,334 | contributors |
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Ancient Period
Definition
Hammurabi - Conquerer, King, and Law-Giver
Hammurabi (reign 1792-1750 BCE) was the sixth king of the Amorite First Dynasty of Babylon, best known for his famous law code, which served as the model for others...
Definition
Aurelian
Aurelian was Roman emperor from 270 to 275 CE. He was one of the so-called Barracks Emperors, chosen by the Roman army during the turbulent period known as the Crisis of the Third Century (235-284...
Definition
Aztec Art
The Aztec culture, centred at the capital of Tenochtitlan, dominated most of Mesoamerica in the 15th-16th centuries. With military conquest and trade expansion, the art of the Aztecs also spread...
Definition
Tallit
The tallit is a garment worn by those of Jewish faith as a symbol of communal solidarity and devotion to their god. The foundation for modern Jewish socio-religious concepts is the Tanakh, or Hebrew...
Definition
Great Pyramid of Giza
The Great Pyramid of Giza is a defining symbol of Egypt and the last of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World. It is located on the Giza plateau near the modern city of Cairo and was...
Definition
Nara Period
The Nara Period (Nara Jidai) of ancient Japan (710-794 CE), so called because for most of that time the capital was located at Nara, then known as Heijokyo, was a short period of transition...
Definition
Peloponnesian League
The Peloponnesian League (c. 550 BCE - c. 366 BCE) was a loose confederation of Greek city-states led by Sparta. The League was the oldest and longest-lasting political association in...
Definition
Hippolytus
Hippolytus is a tragedy written by Euripides (c. 484-407 BCE), one of the great Greek playwrights of the early 5th century BCE. As with many tragedies of the era, the central focus of Hippolytus...
Medieval Period
Article
The Germanic Warrior - Loyalty Unto Death
In Germanic society, the surest route to wealth, status and power was success in battle. Its most important institution was the comitatus or war band, the personal retinue...
Article
Mandu - City of Joy
The city of Mandu is situated about 35 km from Dhar in the Madhya Pradesh region of northern-central India. Most of the city's monuments date to the 15th and 16th century CE. The city...
Definition
Leif Erikson
Leif Erikson (also spelled Leif Eriksson, Old Norse Leifr Eiríksson), nicknamed Leif 'the Lucky', was a Norse Viking who is best known for arguably being the first European to have set foot...
Definition
Timur - The Brutal Conqueror of Central Asia
Timur (1336-1405), also known as Tamerlane, Temür, or Timur Leng, was the founder of the Timurid Empire (1370-1507), which had its heartlands in modern-day Uzbekistan...
Definition
Trebizond
Trapezus (Greek: Τραπεζοῦς) or Trebizond was a Greek city on the southern shore of the Black Sea, modern Trabzon. According to the Christian author Eusebius, writing more than a millennium after...
Definition
Mali Empire
The Mali Empire (1240-1645) of West Africa was founded by Sundiata Keita (r. 1230-1255) following his victory over the kingdom of Sosso (c. 1180-1235). Sundiata's centralised government, diplomacy...
Interview
Interview: Buddhism in Korea
In this interview, James Blake Wiener, Co-Founder and Communications Director at Ancient History Encyclopedia (AHE), speaks to Emeritus Professor James H. Grayson, Professor of...
Definition
Maya Religion
Maya religious beliefs are formed on the notion that virtually everything in the world contains k'uh, or sacredness. K'uh and k'uhul, similar terms which are used to explain the spirituality...
Early Modern Period
Definition
Portuguese Macao
Macao (Macau) is located on a peninsula in the estuary of the Pearl River delta in southeast China and it was a Portuguese colonial settlement from c. 1557 until 1999. Macao was a major...
Definition
Katharina Zell
Katharina Zell (also known as Katharina Schütz, Katharina Schütz-Zell, l. 1497-1562) was a reformer, theologian, and prolific writer in Strasbourg who helped establish the basic tenets of...
Article
Zwingli's Persecution of the Anabaptists
Huldrych Zwingli (l. 1484-1531) broke with the Church in 1522 and defended his beliefs at the First Disputation in 1523, encouraging many people in Zürich to embrace...
Definition
Spanish Armada
The 1588 Spanish Armada was a fleet of 132 ships assembled by King Philip II of Spain (r. 1556-1598) to invade England, his 'Enterprise of England'. The Royal Navy of Elizabeth I of England...
Definition
Katharina von Bora
Katharina von Bora (l. 1499-1552, also known as Katherine Luther) was a former nun who married Martin Luther (l. 1483-1546) in 1525. She, along with some fellow nuns, escaped their convent...
Definition
Manila Galleon
The Manila galleons were Spanish treasure ships which transported precious goods like silk, spices, and porcelain from Manila in the Philippines to Acapulco, Mexico, between 1565 and 1815...
Definition
Sir Thomas More
Sir Thomas More (1478-1535 CE) was a lawyer, scholar, statesman, and Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII of England (r. 1509-1547 CE) who was executed in July 1535 CE for his refusal to endorse...
Collection
Founding Fathers of the United States
The Founding Fathers of the United States were the leaders of the American Revolution (c. 1765-1789), who led the push for American independence from Great Britain, founded...
Modern Period
Article
The Anglo-German Arms Race - Riding the Waves to WWI
The pre-First World War arms race between Britain and Germany was fuelled by Britain's desire to protect its empire, Germany's desire to build an empire, and...
Definition
Anschluss
The Anschluss ('fusion') of 12 March 1938 was the annexation and formal union of Austria with Germany. Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), the Nazi leader of Germany, dreamed of an empire which enclosed...
Article
Red Horse's Account of the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Red Horse (Tasunka Luta, l. c. 1822-1907) was a chief of the Miniconjou Lakota Sioux best known for his firsthand account of the Battle of the Little Bighorn...
Article
The Impact of the British Industrial Revolution
The consequences of the British Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) were many, varied, and long-lasting. Working life in rural and urban settings was changed forever...
Article
France’s 1905 Law of Separation of Church and State
The 1905 Law of Separation of Church and State was enacted as the climax of decades of conflict between monarchists and anticlerical Republicans who viewed Christianity...
Definition
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a series of five bills passed by the US Congress in September 1850 to diffuse a sectional crisis brewing between the 'free states' of the North and the 'slave...
Definition
Manhattan Project - How the Atomic Bomb Was Built
The Manhattan Project was the code name for the secret US-led programme to develop an atomic bomb during the Second World War (1939-45). Hugely expensive and employing...
Definition
Doolittle Raid - The First Audacious US Strike on Tokyo in WWII
The Doolittle Raid saw 16 US B-25 bombers hit Tokyo and other targets in Japan on 18 April 1942. This was the first time that Japan's home islands had...
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...
Image Gallery
A Gallery of Historical Maps
This gallery of 30 maps traces the history of cartography, with examples of maps made by cultures from the Paleolithic to the early modern period. The maps cover cities, states...
Definition
Predynastic Period in Egypt - The Time Before History Began
The Predynastic Period in ancient Egypt is the time before recorded history, from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic Age and on to the rise of the First Dynasty...
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 Habilis
Homo habilis ("handy man") is an extinct species of human that lived in East and South Africa between 2.3 and 1.5 million years ago and plays an interesting role in the discussion surrounding...
Definition
Ness of Brodgar
The Ness of Brodgar is a Neolithic Age site discovered in 2002 CE through a geophysical survey of the area of land in Stenness in Orkney, Scotland, which separates the salt water Stenness...
Article
The Dolmens of Sicily
It is a well-known fact that Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean sea, went through a quite complex prehistoric period. So much so that it is difficult to navigate through...
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...
